The Perfect Revenge
by pitaC89
Summary: Scourge escapes Autobot custody with one thing on his mind. Revenge. So he seeks out a certain human boy. But after finding Koji orphaned and amnesic he takes Koji into space with him instead of killing the boy outright. A fragile bond of friendship grows
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Scourge escapes Autobot custody with one thing on his mind. Revenge. So he seeks out a certain human boy. But after finding Koji orphaned and amnesic he takes Koji into space with him instead of killing the boy outright. A fragile bond of friendship grows between them, but will it be enough to stop Scourges plot for revenge? And what do Koji's long lost friends the Autobots have to say about this?

AN: Something I though up at a Family reunion, around the one-year anniversary of me posting Koji's son. Has no connection to "Koji's Son". It's just me going off in a new direction with my work.

Chapter 1

Klaxons sounded from the foreboding gray building, echoing across the flat metal plain it occupied. Large robots rushed about, strangely light on their feet despite their massive size. They were obviously looking for something. And from the panic on the air that was growing with each passing moment that whatever they were searching for remained not found, the object was either very important or very dangerous.

A blue Bot could be seen climbing a steep incline a good distance from the others. He was determined to find the mech he was tracking. The look on his face wasn't desperate, but angry. He could remember the pain caused by his prey. All the people that had been placed in danger, people he cared about.

He refused to let it happen again.

"Sideburn, any luck?" his brother's voice came over the comm.

The blue Bot, Sideburn, stopped and then answered the voice. "No, there's no sign of Scourge."

"Ok, keep in touch and report any suspicious activity immediately. Prowl out."

Sideburn nodded though he knew his brother couldn't see him. There was no need to remind either of them why catching Scourge was so important. They both remembered the battles on Earth very well. Scourge had been merciless his pursuit of power, betraying Megatron and using human children to control Fortress Maximus. One of those children had been Koji Onishi, a close friend of Sideburn's. Koji hadn't been hurt but it pissed Sideburn off to no end that Koji had been put in that kind of danger. Having to guard his best friend because a Decepticon decided he'd make a good tool wasn't one of Sideburn's favorite activities.

"Sideburn, come back," Prowls voice came back over the comm a few minutes later. "One of the members of team B9 was just killed near the canyon. There's no way we'll catch Scourge if he's in there."

"Who's dead?" Sideburn asked, weary.

"Offroad," Prowl responded.

"I'm headed back now," Sideburn said. Offroad had been another good friend of his.

* * *

Scourge moved silently through the canyon, each step taking him further from his Autobot jailers and closer to freedom. Freedom, and revenge.

During his incarceration all the Decepticon could think of was making Prime pay for his imprisonment. He'd had plenty of time to think up a proper recompense. Killing Prime outright wouldn't have the desired effect since it would end his suffering, not make it greater. So Scourge decided one of Prime's friends would have to pay the price. Originally he'd considered one of the three Autobot Brothers just for convenience sake, since the three were always ambling around his prison--the youngest insisting on making time to stop and glare hatefully at him. He dismissed the idea since the three were soldiers and even Prime wasn't stupid enough to get attached to those he was likely going to one day send to their deaths. Then he'd considered going after Prime's brother, but even he had to admit that Ultra Magnus was more powerful than him.

Just when he'd been about to give up he remembered a certain human boy who had held Prime's spark in the palm of his tiny organic hand. He wouldn't be expecting a visit from a Decepticon after all these years. Hell, from what he gather from the three idiots conversations the Onishi brat had been out of contact with the Autobots for upwards of three years.

He'd be the perfect target. The perfect revenge.

* * *

Optimus Prime sat tiredly at his desk, years of hard work and stress showing in his posture. The past five years hadn't been kind to him. While the major fighting had ended when Megatron had captured, the war was far from over. Megatron's remaining forces had broken down into cells of malcontents who generally liked to make life hell for the Autobots.

Three years ago they showed sings of reorganizing into a unified group. They started changing their tactics and their way of thinking, taking after Scourge's example. They started becoming Decepticons. This event was disturbing enough without Scourge's miraculous escape from the prison he'd spent the last five years in.

It was a wonder Optimus didn't barricade himself in his office more often. Reminiscing about the past was one of the few things that kept him sane.

He was currently looking through a bunch of crude drawings, most under done with a hint of latent talent. Optimus loved them all. One was of him in a dramatic pose, another of all the Autobots from the Earth mission gathered around the mainframe with T-Ai. The last one was of him standing with a human boy on his shoulder.

Optimus liked this picture best. He didn't really have any actual photos of Koji because it had honestly never occurred to him to have any taken. Koji had always been just a vid-call away.

Well at least until three years ago. Dr. Onishi and Koji's disappearances had thrown him for a loop. He'd exhausted every resource within reason trying to find them, including going personally to help with the search that had turn up nothing. Eventually things began escalating with the Predicons reorganizing into the Decepticons and he was forced to return to Cybertron.

Before he could actually make the trip back to his home planet, Dr Onishi's body was discovered in a park not far from the Onishi residence. The condition of his body indicated that he'd been tortured for a long time before his captors finally killed him.

Optimus looked down at his hand and realized it was shaking. Although there was no formal announcement from the law enforcement officers working on the case, it was obvious that they believed Koji suffered the same fate as his father.

Knowing they were most likely right, Optimus preferred to remember the boy like this, innocent and happy.

* * *

On Earth, in a small broken down room, the figure of a young man thrashed around in the grips of a nightmare. His body was covered in scars, some straight, some jagged. The walls of his damp home were covered with drawings of other worldly things, like a planet made completely out of metal, transforming cars, a glowing girl that floated in mid-air, and a kindly looking metal man with a child on his shoulder.

The figure sprang awake, his brown eyes flying open as he curled up to protect himself from some unseen attacker. Before he was fully free of the nightmare that held him, he let out a shriek "I DON'T KNOW!"

AN: Yay a new story and a new muse. Yaaaay!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Scourge escapes Autobot custody with one thing on his mind. Revenge. So he seeks out a certain human boy. But after finding Koji orphaned and amnesic he takes Koji into space with him instead of killing the boy outright. A fragile bond of friendship grows between them, but will it be enough to stop Scourges plot for revenge? And what do Koji's long lost friends the Autobots have to say about this?

AN: Another chapter. This is the last chapter with the summary in it.

Chapter 2

The brown-eyed boy sat at his busted out window watching the clouds go by. This was how he occupied his time when he wasn't looking for food or drawing on the walls. He didn't know why he was so fascinated with the sky. He just always watched, waiting for something he couldn't remember.

Maybe the man from the prison was who he was waiting for. The only problem with that was that he was pretty sure that that man was dead. That man had been the only one who had been nice. He'd never hurt Koji like the others. And he was a prisoner too, just like Koji had been. He was the one who told him his name was Koji, always telling him he had to try to remember it. Apparently he'd been forgetful back then too.

'Hmm. That cloud looks like a fire truck' Koji thought. He felt the strangest feeling of déjà vu accompanied by a brief flash of a memory about a cold night. He would have pushed harder to hold onto the memory but he could already feel the beginnings of a headache, so he allowed it to slip away like the rest of his past. Oh well, it couldn't have been that important anyway or he wouldn't have forgot it.

* * *

Earth hadn't changed at all since he'd been here last. It was still overrun by too many organic life forms, human or otherwise. He'd only been on this planet for two days and seen at least a couple thousand humans, three hundred dogs, fifty cats, and one huge llama—but not even a hint of Prime's pet.

Upon his arrival on Earth, Scourge had done some research on what all had been going on with the Onishi family in the past five years. Learning of Dr. Onishi's murder and his son's assumed death should have put an end to Scourge's plan, but it didn't. After all his time fighting the Autobots and watching the Onishi brat throw himself headlong into the path of danger, Scourge had no doubt that whatever befell the father had had less success with the son. The boy seemed to have the devil's own luck.

Maybe the devil was the wrong analogy. If he was going to go by Earth theology Koji Onishi would be better described as an angel. Innocent, sweet, kind… all those disgusting things that Scourge hated.

Anyway, luck or not, after this much time having passed since his disappearance the boy would be difficult to locate without any help. So Scourge was forced to call in a favor from an old _friend_.

Ryoichi Keiji was a minor crime lord in the Onishi's hometown. He wasn't very powerful but he always kept an ear open for anything he could store away for later use. He also knew that he needed to remain in Scourge's good graces if he wished to remain in the land of the living and whole. Which would be exactly why he was sitting in Scourge's cab, listening to the tanker's proposition.

"You want to know about a three year old murder case?" Keiji seemed doubtful of Scourge's true intentions.

"No. I want to know what happened to Koji Onishi," Scourge told the human.

"He was murdered three years ago along with his father. You could have found that out with a simple internet search," Keiji said.

"If he's dead then why did they never find his body? I don't even particularly like the brat but I have to admit that too he's smart and resourceful to have died like that. He wouldn't have gone down easy, if at all," Scourge stated. "Now if you want to go home to your precious little wife tonight then I suggest you tell me everything you know," Scourge ordered, hating that he sounded just like Megatron would.

"I don't know that much. Just that there was a certain group that wanted to get their hands on some Cybertronian weapons and figured Onishi would know something," Keiji admitted. "I have no idea why they took the kid or what they did with him after the old man died. They either killed him or moved him out of town," Keiji said reaching for the door handle, only to find that it was locked. "Hey!"

"You make a bad liar Ryoichi. What else do you know?" Scourge demanded.

"Nothing!" Keiji insisted, struggling with the door.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what you know about the Onishi brat!" Scourge growled.

"I can't damnit! " Keiji screamed.

"I want to know where the boy is and even if you don't know where he is you at least have a good idea," Scourge stated.

"Scourge," Keiji all but pleaded, "all the shit that happened to that kid… hell I don't think there's anything that they _didn't_ do to him," Keiji flopped back into his seat, defeated. "He really doesn't need anymore shit like this in his life."

"I'm not going to add 'more shit' to his life. I'm merely going to put him out of his misery," Scourge said smugly.

"Scourge, he's not exactly all there anymore. It's just not right to mess with someone like that," Keiji said.

"Interesting, you've developed a sense of honor. But it hardly matters, you're going to tell me where he is or say goodbye to your family."

* * *

"I'll be blunt. We have no idea where Scourge went, what he intends to do, and if he has any intention of taking back his position as the leader of the Decepticon army," Optimus stated looking around the room. He'd assembled all the Autobots from the mission to Earth. Since they all had fought against Scourge at one time or another, they understood the gravity of the situation.

"Where's he most likely to go?" X-brawn asked.

"We don't know. It all depends on how much he remembers from before he was turned into a Decepticon. Which probably isn't that much," Ultra Magnus put in.

"So all he knows is Earth," Prowl commented. "Not much left for him there."

"There's nothing on Earth that would be of any value to Scourge," Optimus said. "We took Fortress Maximus with us when we left."

"Does Scourge know about… does Scourge know about Koji?" Sideburn spoke up.

Optimus considered this. "If it's Koji he's after, then the biggest problem we have is what he'll do once he realizes he's on a wild goose chase."

As his men nodded agreement, it didn't escape Optimus's notice that Sideburn was the only one that didn't look convinced.

'You still won't accept that he gone, will you Sideburn?' Optimus thought sadly.

* * *

Koji's cloud gazing was interrupted by a scraping outside his door. Odd, he never had visitors at this time of day. Usually Mrs. Ryoichi would drop by close to dusk with leftovers from her family's dinner. And sometimes her oldest son would come by after school to play cards or chess, both of which he had yet to beat Koji at.

But it was noon, school wouldn't be out for another few hours. Or would it? Koji couldn't remember. Had he ever gone to school? He couldn't remember that either.

A loud bang, most likely caused by someone trying to open the sliding door with out unlocking it first, brought Koji out of his muddled thoughts. Well obviously whoever was out there wasn't one of his friends or else they would have knocked.

Koji silently slipped off the window ledge, moving quickly to grab the baseball bat Mr. Ryoichi had given him in case someone tried to come and take him back to the prison. He snuck silently across the room to look out the window to see just who it was trying to break in.

Before he could got there, the aluminum door slid open leaving Koji faced with five gunmen. Somehow, he doubted that Mr. Ryoichi's bat would do him much good.

* * *

Scourge arrived at the address he had forced out of Ryoichi just in time to see five humans with laughable weaponry dragging a struggling man from the building—an abandoned warehouse from what he could tell— and then attempting to force him into an unmarked van.

While the antics of these foolish humans usually provided Scourge with some entertainment, Scourge didn't find it so amusing that these lesser beings were trying to make off with his prey.

'This will be too easy' Scourge thought before yelling, "TRANSFORM!"

* * *

"TRANSFORM!"

That definitely was important. Koji remembered someone yelling that a lot. He just couldn't remember who. Was this the person he'd been waiting for? No, something wasn't right about that voice. It was too dark.

"Ackk!" The men who had been holding Koji dropped him to the ground before running away in terror. Picking himself up, Koji shook himself off.

"So, this is what became of Optimus Prime's pet," the dark mech chuckled.

'Optimus Prime? He was... the leader of the Autobots—' The headache came out of nowhere making Koji feel as though his head was being split in half. He didn't even have time to bring his hands up to break his fall before the world faded to black.

AN: This is one of the longest chapters I've ever written for a multi-chapter story. Oh Koji's headaches will be explained later along with his lack of memory.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3

This wasn't at all what he had expected. A look of fear maybe, a shriek of terror definitely. But all he'd received from Prime's pet was a look of confusion before the boy's eye rolled back into his head and he fainted.

Sure Ryoichi had warned him that the boy was damaged —amnesic and suffering from severe headaches when pushed to remember his time with the Autobots. But he should have at least been a little afraid when a large truck transformed into a even larger robot. That wasn't something humans saw every day, now was it?

Scourge glared down at the unconscious human. Killing him now would hardly be satisfying. Any fool could kill an unconscious organic. It was almost cowardly. And he couldn't have cowardice tainting his revenge. Plus, Prime might be able find some comfort in the fact that his friend wasn't awake to feel the pain of his demise.

Scourge looked over the boy, noting the changes in his appearance since he last saw him. As expected the child was no longer a child, but still not quite a man yet. He was taller, not an ounce of baby fat left. His hair was still spiky and still brown. His face resembled his father's, but less hard, maintaining some of the innocent boy whose smile had won the heart of both Predicon and Autobot alike.

What was visible of his skin was littered with scars too numerous to count. The most prominent was a wide, dark scar that ran from behind his left ear, just under his jaw line, along the top of his neck under his chin, and then back up the other side ending behind his right ear. It looked like someone had tried to hang him, like in one of those westerns the three Predicon stooges insisted on watching.

A flash of sympathy flew through him, a remnant of his Autobot programming no doubt. Scourge squashed it down. Letting his old Autobot nature get the better of him wouldn't help now…

Or would it?

If the boy truly didn't remember the Autobots or all that Scourge had done in the past, then he might be able to convince him that they were friends. If he listened to his inner Autobot, at least to a certain extent, he could win the boy's trust. Instead of confronting Prime to inform him of the boy's true demise, he would confront him with the knowledge that not only was the boy still alive, but was the loyal friend of Scourge.

It would be perfect. Prime would be shattered by his friend's unwitting betrayal.

* * *

The meeting about Scourge had ended hours ago. It was decided that for now their best bet was to put everyone on high alert and wait for Scourge to make his move. There was really nothing else they could do.

But that didn't help ease Sideburn's troubled mind. This whole thing was bringing up bad memories of Earth… of the war… of Koji.

Sideburn still just couldn't believe that Koji was really dead. The last time he'd spoken to Koji they'd spent two hours talking about nothing in particular; red sports car, skateboarding, sports, girls, just life in general. Then the next day he called and got no answer. He hadn't though much of it then, just that Koji was probably out with Carl and Jenny and he'd call back later. Three days passed before he finally went to Optimus with his concerns that something might be wrong. Optimus tried to get touch with Dr. Onishi to see what was wrong. He got the Tokyo Police Department instead.

Koji had been reported to the police as truant after he missed class for three days straight without a call or note from his father to explain the absence. The police sent a truancy officer to go investigate. He arrived to find the Onishis' front and back doors locked. Scuffmarks and muddy footprints were discovered on the wall under Koji's balcony. Further investigation revealed that the sliding glass door had been forced open. There were more muddy footprints in Koji's room, leading directly to his bed. Koji's pillow had been found on the floor along with his comforter, alarm clock, and vid-phone. Dr. Onishi's room had been in a similar condition. The police concluded that the Onishi's had been dragged out Koji's balcony and down the wall against their will.

Optimus had left for Earth that very day and stayed until Dr. Onishi's body was found. Even though they were having difficulties with the Predicon/Decepticon army, Optimus had allowed all the Autobots that knew Koji to come to Earth for the funeral, though he hadn't allowed them to help with the search. Dr. Onishi had been buried in one of the few cemeteries in Japan that wasn't on a rooftop. For closure they buried an empty casket for Koji, putting his name under his father's on the tombstone.

Sideburn still felt somewhat guilty for just accepting the humans' word for it that Koji was dead. He hadn't even been allowed to leave Cybertron to help with the search.

'Koji… I'm sorry'

* * *

For a minute Koji thought he was back at the prison. The cold metal table he woke up on was a lot like the one in the prison's… torture chamber? That's what he thought the 'nice man' had always called it but Koji couldn't be sure.

Something about this room was different. The prison rooms were smaller and had a lot of tools and needles and machines and… other stuff. This room was huge and bare. And it had windows, the prison definitely didn't have those…well actually it had one, that was how Koji escaped.

Koji slid off the table, which was a good five feet higher than any he'd ever seen before, and headed toward the window. He wanted to look at the sky to see what time it was.

That was odd. No sun, no moon…no ground? 'I guess I must be in space' he thought looking out at the stars. 'And this doesn't bother me, why?' he wondered.

The door, six times larger than the one he had at home, slid open to reveal the big robot from earlier.

"You're awake finally. I was wondering how long you'd be out, it's been three days," He commented.

"Where am I?" Koji asked, wary of the stranger.

"On my ship headed toward Sirius," the robot explained.

"The constellation?" Koji asked, remembering a star chart he memorized when he was bored one day.

"The star system, yes," the robot said looking down at him. Koji sensed that the robot was somehow uncomfortable with the current situation. Like the mech wasn't use to being around humans. 'Mech? Where'd that word come from?' Koji wondered. He didn't remember hearing it before.

"Why?" Koji asked.

"Why what?"

"Why am I on your ship?" Koji asked tilting his head innocently.

"You were hurt. I didn't think leaving you lying in the middle of the street was such a good idea," the robot answered. That made sense, even though Koji thought taking him into space was a bit extreme. Well it wasn't exactly like Koji had anywhere he needed to be. And he had wanted to get away for a while, so he guessed there was no harm done.

"Who are you?"

The robot seemed taken aback by the question. He recovered quickly. "I am Scourge."

"Scourge?" That name sounded familiar but Koji didn't dare try to remember. The way he reacted to the name Optimus Prime was still fresh in his memory.

"Yes and you are Koji Onishi," Scourge said. "Now with introductions out of the way—"

"Onishi?"

"… You don't remember your surname?"

"I have a surname?"

Scourge groaned in frustration.

AN: Scourge and Koji's conversation was supposed to be awkward. Koji's still not all there(it'll take a while till he fully recovers) and Scourge isn't exactly use to make polite conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: If the extensive use of the phrase 'the boy' gets annoying bear with me. Scourge will start thinking of Koji as 'Koji' soon instead of 'the boy'.

Chapter 4

Three weeks had passed since Scourge's escape and still no sign of the Decepticon leader. And that worried Optimus Prime. Scourge should have made his move by now, or at least been sighted. But three weeks and absolutely no sign of Scourge anywhere. He had probably already joined up with the Decepticon and was plotting the renewed war against the Autobots.

To add to Optimus' worries X-brawn came to him yesterday to inform him that Sideburn seemed to be slipping back into depression like he had right after Koji's death. It had taken months for Sideburn to come out of it last time, essentially taking him and his brothers out of action for the entire time. No matter how bad things got Optimus hadn't had the heart to force Prowl and X-brawn to return to duty while Sideburn was hurting so bad.

Optimus was brought out of his brooding by what sounded like a stampede of transformers coming down the hallway toward his office. 'What the—'

Optimus' unspoken question was cut off when his door slid open and Sideburn came running in closely followed by his brothers.

"Optimus! Scourge has been spotted!" Sideburn exclaimed looking more energized than he had in weeks.

"Where?" Optimus asked sitting up a little straighter. 'Good news at last'

"Earth sir. Less than three weeks ago" Prowl stepped in for his overly excited brother.

'Or not' Optimus thought.

"Do we have any idea what he was doing there?" Optimus asked getting right down to business.

"Kidnapping a teenage boy" X-brawn said solemnly, his attitude the complete opposite of Sideburn's.

'Definitely not good news'

"Why would he kidnap a boy?" Optimus asked.

"Sir…This boy had brown hair and brown eyes" Prowl said quietly.

Now Optimus understood Sideburn's sudden return from the depths of despair. This boy resembled Koji in appearance, giving Sideburn false hope that he might actually see his friend again.

"Anything else?" Optimus asked, inwardly flinching at the sudden coldness in his own voice.

"Optimus this could be—"

Optimus cut Sideburn off. "This _is_ some poor boy Scourge mistook for someone else and now the boy's family is probably going through hell wondering if they're ever going to see him again" Optimus said bitterly.

"Actually the boy's neighbors say he's homeless sir. He has no known family" Prowl pointed out.

"And he ain't alright the head either. The neighbors say he spends a lot of time just staring at the sky" X-brawn said.

Optimus looked in-between the two suspiciously. "You two seem to very cozy with 'the neighbors'" he commented dryly.

"We make it our business to bring you only accurate informa---" X-brawn cut Prowl off

"What he means is the kid looks like Koji, and since we never actually found a body, there is a chance---"

"However small—" Prowl put in.

"That the boy actually is Koji" Sideburn finished.

Optimus examined the three sets of optics before him. He saw hope. The three of them all honestly believed that there was a chance that this boy Scourge had found was Koji. Even the ever-reasonable Prowl thought it was a possibility.

Then maybe---NO. He wasn't going to risk getting his hopes up just to be disappointed again.

"We'll mount a search. Whoever this kid is I doubt Scourge is seeing to his needs properly"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow" Koji breathed. The planet they were approaching was a truly breathtaking sight. Scourge had told him it was similar to Earth in that it had all the elements needed to support a population of organics. There were fresh water oceans that were the clearest blue Koji had ever seen. Extensive untouched forests covered most of the planet's landmass. No signs of urbanization what so ever. Apparently this planet hadn't produced a species as destructive as humans.

"It is what one would call beautiful, I suppose" Scourge agreed, standing behind Koji at the window.

"Are we stopping here?" Koji asked.

"For a short while, yes. We need to replenish the oxygen tanks and gather some more food and water for you" Scourge explained. He hadn't realized the boy would go through so much food is such a short period of time.

He looked down at the boy still wondering at his acceptance of Scourge's company and care. He hadn't really been able to explain much about the past, or even his altered version of events, since every time he brought up something having to do with Prime the boy's headaches returned. Oddly enough Scourge's own appearance didn't trigger any headaches even though he was a darker version of Prime.

As far as winning the boy's trust, Scourge thought he was doing fairly well, but he wasn't quiet ready to take the boy to Cybertron yet. Occasionally he'd catch the kid staring at him strangely, like he was trying to remember something or figure something out. Obviously whatever was lost due to his injuries, it didn't include his sense of self-preservation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You do realize that stirring up sediments will contaminate the drinking water?" Scourge asked. The first time the boy had seen a large body of water in years and he was insisting on going swimming. Chances were the boy didn't even remember _if_ he could swim. Hell if Scourge knew either.

"We can filter it can't we?" Koji asked.

"It would take extra hours that we can't afford to waste here" Scourge stated, lugging another container of food onto the ship.

"…Who are we running from?" Koji asked after a moment silence.

Scourge set down the food and tried his best to look nonchalant. "We're not running from anyone"

"Then why do we never stop for more than a few hours at a time?" Koji asked.

Scourge didn't miss a beat. "I'm in a hurry to get to Sirius"

"I may not remember much Scourge but I do remember that the quickest way between two points is a straight line. The course we've been following zigzags every way but Sirius" Koji said.

For the first time since he'd found him Scourge could see some of the old Koji shining through the haze that had since taken over the boy's mind. It wasn't the weak organic he'd always assumed Prime's pet to be. It was a young spirit with a blazing fire and streak of steel in it.

"Just go swimming Koji" Scourge said, grabbing the container and heading toward the storage room to contemplate why he suddenly felt a hint of admiration for the boy. After thinking on it for a while he wrote it off as something he'd picked up when he scanned Prime the day he'd been made into a Decepticon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'That was weird' Koji thought while doing a lazy backstroke. When he'd been talking to Scourge he'd felt strange. Like some of the fog over his mind was lifting allowing him the confidence to speak his mind.

He really shouldn't be surprised that the fog was lifting, the longer he spent away from Earth and the prison the more the fog seemed to thin.

In fact just the night before the memory of riding in a fire truck hadn't caused so much as a twinge of discomfort when it used to be that if he even just heard a siren in the distance he would get a migraine.

Not all of his returned memories were as pleasant as his fire truck ride though. He now knew where he got the scar on his neck. _They'd_ made him stand on a table, then they put a noose around his neck and shoved him off. If he'd weigh more back then his neck would have snapped. Luckily it didn't and they cut him down after he'd passed out.

Suddenly Koji came out of his memories sensing something was wrong. He felt like he was being watched. Then some instinct kicked in and told him that something else was in the water with him. He spun around to look down through the clear water to find a pair of black eyes staring up at him. Then he was pulled under, barely having time to scream before the water filled his mouth and covered him completely.

AN: R&R or else. I want to know what everybody thinks.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: Sorry for lateness. It's fair weekend and I'm kind of sick (in other words I'm coughing so hard it feels like my lungs are going to burst). It got down in the lower fifties the first night of the fair and I always stay until closing somewhere between ten and eleven PM. Not good when you've only got a light sweater.

Chapter 5

Sideburn was happy. He was excited, and he couldn't stop smiling. Koji could be in mortal danger, but Sideburn was happy.

If Koji was in mortal danger that meant he was alive, and that meant there was a chance that they could save him. There was a chance that Koji wasn't in some shallow grave where no one could find him or visit him or leave flowers on his birthday.

He could find Koji. He _would_ find Koji and he would make up for not being there when his friend needed him.

* * *

Scourge had just left the ship carrying the water pump and tank when he heard Koji scream. Acting on an instinct he dropped the tank and went running through the trees in the direction of Koji's scream.

* * *

Koji struggled against the claws that were digging into the skin on his torso drawing blood. Whatever grabbed him was strong; it wasn't letting him go without a fight.

'God I hope this thing doesn't want to eat me' Koji thought throwing his elbow back into what he hoped was it's face. Though he couldn't get up much momentum underwater he hit it hard enough to make it release him. He kicked back against it propelling himself forward with his arms in front of him in a streamline stroke. He fought to get to the surface before the creature got him again.

His face broke the surface just as something wrapped around his foot dragging him back down. Koji whipped his head around to see what exactly was attacking him. To his surprise the thing looked almost human. With the exception of it's blue skin, really big sharp teeth, and huge completely black eyes.

'Great, I'm being attacked by the Creature from the Black Lagoon', Koji though sardonically. He then bought his free foot down on it's head repeatedly until it released him again.

Making his second break for the surface Koji made it ten feet before running into a second creature that looked just like the first. It fastened it's claws around Koji's neck pushing him down until his back met the sandy bottom a good twenty five feet below the surface. The other one came and pinned his flailing legs and arms.

Their strategy seemed to be to hold him down till he passed out from lack of oxygen. He hadn't been able to gulp in any air last time he made it to the surface so his lungs were already burning, and the water pressure wasn't helping much either.

He couldn't hold it anymore. Koji let out his breath and let the water fill his lungs.

* * *

Scourge finally reached the beach Koji had said he was going to go swimming at. The water was so clear he could see the entire lagoon floor. All except for one area where a cloud of sediment hovered, drifting on the tide.

He didn't think twice about jumping in.

* * *

"Uhm…" Koji grunted gradually coming to. He tried to sit up but realized his whole body felt as heavy as a ton of bricks. "What---'"

"You seem to attract trouble like a magnet" Scourge commented.

"What happened?"

"You were attacked by sea nettles" Scourge answered.

"Uhhh… Sea nettles? Aren't those supposed to be jelly-like, invertebrates?" Koji asked, a ridiculous image forming in his mind of chibi jellyfish choking a chibi Koji with it's tentacles.

"On Earth yes. Here they've had a few billion more years to evolve" Scourge explained.

"What attacked me had claws and definitely had a spine. How did sea nettles evolve into that?" Koji asked slightly incredulous.

"Your species is believed to have evolved from a single celled organism. Is it really such a leap for sea nettles to have evolved into those things that attacked you?"

"I guess" Koji admitted. Well at least he hadn't been attacked by a super-evolved shark… Wait… Shark?

"I talked to … a flying shark?" Koji asked.

"Huh?" Scourge asked, beginning to wonder if Koji had hit his head.

"I remember talking to a flying shark… about a fishing lure?" Koji looked up into Scourge's optics for confirmation.

"Yes… Sky-byte. The two of you were…" Scourge searched for the right word "Well acquainted" he decided that that fit the boy's relationship with the Predicon shark. "You're probably remembering the day you bartered with him for your father's freedom"

"That was when---" Koji stopped, his face becoming sheet white. He grabbed his head as though he were in pain.

"Koji!" Scourge started forward, but suddenly Koji's whole body went lax and his arms dropped to his sides. "Koji?" Scourge questioned.

Koji looked up his eyes hazy again. "What were we talking about?"

Whatever progress Koji had been made towards regaining his old self had just been lost.

"Nothing Koji" Scourge said gently.

* * *

He should be ecstatic. Koji's memory was still mostly gone. Getting to close to the subject of the Autobots still caused Koji to have severe headaches. It made him vulnerable and dependent on Scourge. Everything was going perfectly.

But somehow Scourge wasn't so pleased. It saddened him to see a resilient being, organic or no, struggling to regain some sense of identity. He, of all people knew what that was like. After his turning he felt his Autobot nature trying to surface time after time. So much so that sometimes he'd find himself secretly pleased when one of the Autobots pulled off a miraculous stunt, foiling whatever plot Megatron had worked so hard on. At the time he convinced himself that he just liked seeing Megatron being brought down a peg.

But now… now he wondered.

* * *

Going back to check on Koji wasn't the smartest thing to do when he was still having doubts about himself like he was. But Scourge convinced himself that he was just going through the motions to continue to gain the boy's trust.

"Koji? Are you awake?" he asked entering the med lab. He found Koji curled up on blankets he'd thrown together in a makeshift bed. Koji wasn't asleep but he didn't respond immediately. "Koji?"

Koji was shaking and his skin had become very pale.

"Koji!" Scourge hurried over to check on the boy. His lips had turned blue and his pupils were dilated. 'What happened? He was fine when I left.'

He went to the computer to check Koji's vital signs. Low body temp, weak pulse, shallow-rapid breathing. According to the computer these were all symptoms of shock. More than likely caused by a poison in his system.

The sea nettles must have injected some poison into his bloodstream when they grabbed him. Scourge hadn't thought they'd broken the skin so he hadn't been concerned about poison. Obviously he'd been wrong. All he could do now was administer the anti-venom and hope for the best.

"Scourge?" Koji's weak voice came from the cot; right after Scourge finished typing in the sequence to have the med-computer create the anti-venom.

"Koji you need to rest. It'll take awhile to make the medicine I need to help you" Scourge told him.

Koji didn't seem to hear him. "Were we friends?" he asked, weakly.

"Huh?" scourge looked to the boy in confusion. Koji's eyes weren't as hazy as they'd been earlier.

"You knew me before I was in the prison, right?"

"Yes" Scourge answered.

"Were we friends?"

Scourge found he couldn't lie to the boy. "No Koji. We weren't"

Scourge thought he saw the light in Koji's eyes dim, but seeing as how Koji lost consciousness a few seconds later Scourge ignored it. He got back to working in the anti-venom.

AN: Suckey chapter but this all does have a point. R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing except parts of the plot. Technically my best friend came up with the general idea from some clichés and that other junk.

Chapter 6

They'd been on the trail for about a week and were slowly closing in on Scourge's ship. Their intelligence report told them Scourge had stopped recently on a planet populated by organics and was still there getting medical treatment for a young organic boy.

"How bad do you think it is?" Sideburn asked.

"Hmm?" Optimus looked up from the report.

"It says he stopped to get medical treatment. How bad do you think it is?"

"If Scourge risked stopping it must be some substantial injury or illness," Prowl intoned.

"So you think Koji's really hurt?" Sideburn asked.

Optimus felt a slight twinge of something that he couldn't identify. "The _boy_ Scourge kidnapped must be in dire need of medical attention if he's risking being seen."

"It's good news though," X-brawn put in to cheer his baby brother up.

"How?" Sideburn asked.

"It means that Scourge is at least interested in keeping him alive," Prowl answered for his older brother.

"Which is also bad news because whatever his purpose maybe, I doubt Scourge has been taken over by the sudden urge to seek out friendship with a human," Optimus said cynically.

"You don't have be so damn cynical Prime," Ultra Magnus scoffed. Since Optimus hadn't wanted to go up against Scourge with out Omega Prime he asked his brother to accompany them on the rescue mission. Right now Optimus was thinking he'd have been better off with the Build Team. At least they didn't back talk.

"As leader it's my job to be realistic and keep a level head. If you consider that being cynical, then yes I do have to be cynical," Optimus informed his brother.

"No, you're not keeping a level head, you're in denial," Ultra Magnus stated. His stupid older brother refused to acknowledge that there was a chance that the boy they were going to save could be Koji. Ultra Magnus couldn't be completely sure of Optimus's reasoning since what he knew he'd been told by Optimus after the Autobot leader had imbibed too much high grade.

Right after Dr. Onishi's funeral Ultra Magnus had had to go looking for Optimus the night before they left to return to Cybertron. Optimus had taken off, leaving no instructions other than to continue preparation for their journey home. When T-Ai had gotten worried she'd pestered Ultra Magnus until he gave in and went looking for his missing brother. He had found him in some ruins in the desert, the Pyuma ruins is what Sideburn called them. Anyway Prime had been pretty well sloshed by the time Ultra Magnus had found him in the inner chamber. Optimus had sat quietly at first, just staring at some gold box not even acknowledging his younger brother's presence. But when Ultra Magnus tried to get him to go back to the base Optimus' whole demeanor changed. He'd become angry yelling about how pathetic humans were, how cruel, how idiotic and so on. When his tirade ended he'd looked up at Ultra Magnus with this lost look in his optics. He'd asked Ultra Magnus how humans could do that to one of their own. A child at that. Then Optimus had said he was glad Koji was dead. Then he collapsed.

The next day he acted as though nothing had happened. Optimus resumed his duties as commander and went on with his life, throwing himself into his work.

Ultra Magnus didn't think much on it. His brother was rarely so volatile, only when in extreme pain. The loss of Koji hit Optimus hard. Optimus didn't want to go through that again, so he would refuse to acknowledge this boy as Koji unless he had solid proof in front of him.

* * *

Staying here so long was a risk but Scourge was just going to have to take it. Koji hadn't recovered from the sea nettle poison so Scourge was forced to find the nearest planet with the capabilities to treat him properly.

"Is he ready to travel or not?" Scourge growled at the organic physician. Just because he was willing to wait for this kid to recover didn't mean he had to be patient about it.

The doctor, to her credit, didn't give any visible signs that she was frightened. Inside she was fairly sure her heart was about to pop out of her chest it was beating so fast.

She stood firm though on her position. "That child isn't ready for a trip down the street much less across the galaxy to who knows where. The poison has caused serve damage to his system. It may take weeks for him to fully recover. Even then it would be prudent to remain another week just incase," the doctor advised.

Scourge glared. He was certain that if the Autobots were looking for him, they would have caught word about this little stop over by now. So he could expect Prime to be beating down the door with in the next seven solar cycles of this little mud ball, which were about half as long as Earth's.

"Can I see him," Scourge asked gruffly.

The doctor sighed. Maybe if the transformer saw the boy he'd understand just how serious his condition was. If he didn't and insisted on removing the child from her care the boy would most likely die. And since, though the boy shared the same basic physiology as her people he wasn't the same species so she had no way of forcing the transformer to keep the boy here.

"Fine," she agreed before leading the transformer down the hallway. Since the often did business with Cybertronians and other robotic life forms, they found it necessary to build all their public structures accordingly.

"How exactly did you come to be in possession of an organic child in the first place?" the doctor asked the same question she'd been asking since the transformer, who she assumed to be of Cybertronian origin, had come to their planet seeking aide for the boy. So far she'd gotten no answer.

"Where do you think his scars came from?" the Cybertronian asked.

This was a different answer than she usually got. "I would guess extended periods of physical abuse."

"Would it have been _prudent_ to leave him in that kind of situation?" the Cybertronian asked mockingly.

The doctor glared. "No," she admitted.

"The ends justify the means," Scourge quoted some Earthling philosopher.

"Hmmm," the doctor said nothing more until they reached the window outside the boy's room.

* * *

Scourge felt a strange clenching in the vicinity of his spark when he saw Koji so pale in that hospital bed. The same clench he felt on Earth when he first saw the boy's scars, the same clench he felt when he heard the boy scream while being attacked by those sea nettles, and the same clench as when he found the boy curled up and in pain on the med lab table.

The clench turned to a strange warm fuzzy feeling when he saw the boy roll over on the hospital bed and send him a tired smile. Scourge mentally scolded himself. He was starting to think like an Autobot. The boy's smile was probably a result of whatever medicine they were giving him, not because he was happy to see him.

As the doctor had said, Koji did not look like he was in any condition to travel. And the Autobots would be here soon to find the boy and take Scourge back to prison. It didn't occur to Scourge to just move the boy anyway.

"You wouldn't recommend moving him at all, right?" Scourge asked, a plan forming in his processor.

"No. It could cause even further damage to his system," the doctor said.

Then Prime wouldn't risk moving him either. He would have a good few weeks to come back and get the boy. He'd have to completely vanish for those weeks to avoid being taken back into Autobot custody but he could risk coming back right before Prime moved the boy to Cybertron or Earth or wherever he decided to take the boy.

Prime would set up numerous guards to protect Koji. But he'd also had numerous guards set up in the prison he'd held Scourge in.

They hadn't been able to stop him before, and they wouldn't stop him now.

* * *

"It's for both of our safety Koji," Scourge insisted. He was trying to explain to Koji why he had to leave but the boy was having none of his excuses.

"If this group gets a hold of me they will send me back to prison," Scourge felt some guilt over taking advantage of Koji's fear of the prisons but he needed to be gone by the time the Autobots got here.

"Will they hurt you?" Koji asked.

"Possibly. I've made many enemies among them," Scourge said.

"You'll come back, right?" Koji asked, something strange flickering through the boy's eyes.

"I promise. I'll be back for you when you're well enough to travel," Scourge promised, strangely not surprised that it wasn't thoughts of vengeance that were motivating this declaration.

Koji stared at him. The boy's eyes had taken on a strange look to them.

"You're a lot like him. More than either of you wants to admit," Koji said sadly.

"Like who?" Scourge asked, fear rising in his chest that the boy remembered something best left forgotten.

"I don't know. I try to remember him but I can't. It hurts too much," Koji admitted. Scourge was pretty sure he saw tears starting to pool in the child's eyes.

"You don't need to remember anything Koji. It'll all come back to you in time," Scourge consoled him. "I have to go now. I promise I'll be back," Scourge told him. Koji nodded.

When Scourge turned to go he was stopped by Koji's voice.

"You weren't meant for darkness. It doesn't suit you," Koji's voice had taken on a dream like quality.

"Koji?"

"No. Just a friend," Koji said before he passed out again.

AN: So tired. R&R god damnit. I'm freaking out thinking people don't this anymore. Plus I sat here and wrote this while there is a pair of skunks on my porch right outside the computer room window.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 7

This was it. They were standing in the lobby of the hospital Scourge was reported to have left Koji in.

And Sideburn was scared out of his mind.

He felt the almost overpowering urge to turn around and run. To run away and hide. Doubts that he had previously ignored were getting back at him ten fold. What if this kid wasn't Koji? What if Optimus was right and he was getting his hopes up for nothing? What if Koji really was in some lonely shallow grave somewhere in Japan? Sideburn couldn't seem to stop the building pressure in his spark.

"Where's the doctor we talked to?" Ultra Magnus asked looking at the organics that were rushing about.

"She should be here soon… There she is," Optimus said as a middle aged woman strode toward them.

"Optimus Prime?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Dr. Korvalous. I've been treating the boy since his arrival here last week," the doctor explained.

"Thank you. This is Ultra Magnus and the Autobot brothers X-brawn, Prowl and Sideburn," Optimus introduce his current team. "We would like to see the boy if that wouldn't be to much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all I assure you. He's slightly fragile but he seems to do better when he has regular visitors, even if they are strangers," Dr. Korvalous explained leading the way down the hall.

"Could you answer some questions for us about the boy's case," Ultra Magnus asked getting to the point.

"What would you like to know?"

"How was he injured would be a nice start."

"A mild case of poisoning that went untreated too long. It caused some damage to a few of his systems but nothing permanent. He should be fully recovered within a month," Dr. Korvalous answered.

"The Cybertronian who brought him, did he say when he would be back for the boy?" Optimus asked.

"No. He did speak with the boy before leaving. It's possible he told him something of his plans."

"The authorities on the boy's home planet informed us that the boy was mentally handicapped. We need to know what the extent of his disability before we make the proper arrangements to have him taken home," Optimus said.

"He's not handicapped at all."

"The authorities—"

"Haven't spoken with this boy, have they?" Dr. Korvalous interrupted. "He is slightly eccentric but it should go away with the proper counseling."

"How would counseling help him?" Prowl asked.

"His _supposed disability _stems from extended periods of severe physical and psychological abuse. The Cybertronian that brought him here may have kidnapped him, but in doing so did this boy a huge favor. From what I've gathered from talking with him, he escaped a 'prison' of some sort about a year ago. Just recently the group that ran the prison caught up with him. His 'kidnapper' rescued him from them," Dr. Korvalous explained.

"Huh. Scourge doing a good deed. Who'd've thunk?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"I doubt Scourge was thinking about the boy's safety when he actually grabbed him. The fact he may have saved the child's life is most likely a coincidence," Optimus said.

* * *

Koji looked up from his sketchbook when he heard a large group stop outside his room. He could hear Dr. Korvalous saying something about them going in one at a time. Then the door opened.

A red and blue transformer walked in.

Koji felt the tingling in the back of his head telling him that a headache would soon be coming on. He hadn't had one of those since right after Scourge saved him from the sea nettles—which he still couldn't believe evolved into something with a spine.

"Hello. I am Optimus Prime—" the red and blue Bot started to introduce himself.

"Leader of the Autobots," Koji finished for him.

"You know me?" Optimus asked. Koji was pretty sure that if the Autobot had had eyelids he would have blinked. It was acutally a funny image, though he didn't know why.

Koji felt a twinge right behind his eyes.

"Not for a while. But you are an Autobot, like Scourge was supposed to be," 'Koji' said flipping back through his sketchbook looking for a certain drawing.

"Scourge told you about that?" Optimus asked definitely confused.

"No," 'Koji' estimated that he had a few minutes before the headache became unbearable. It wasn't coming on as quickly as the others, probably because this headache was caused by the strain being put on the body rather than a defense mechanism.

"Then how did you know that Scourge was originally an Autobot?" Optimus asked.

"I could tell by his spark. It's damaged, slightly tainted, but not beyond hope," 'Koji' said, smiling when he found the sketch he was looking for. He held out the book to Optimus. Optimus accepted it.

"He drew this a few days ago. He thought it was Scourge, but the symbols don't match up and it didn't feel right to shade in the armor and helmet," 'Koji' explained.

"What—"

"You can ask about it later when I wake up. This body can't support me for very long especially since the boy's still weak from being sick," 'Koji' said. Then the headache became unbearable and he fell into darkness.

* * *

Optimus stared at the unconscious boy. That conversation had gone nothing like he thought it would.

Something had been seriously off about that boy. For one, the child's eyes had changed color twice during their conversation. Right after he asked if the boy knew him, the child's eyes had become an almost iridescent shade of gold. Then, right before he lost consciousness, the boy's eyes had faded back to brown. Exactly the same shade of brown he remembered Koji's being.

Finally looking down at the sketch he saw that it was of him. The child was a decent artist. Fairly decent lines. Not fancy but not overly rough. All in all, it was a good likeness

He flipped it over to see if there was anything on the back. There was. Writing. Old writing. Old, _Cybertronian_, writing.

Optimus could only translate a couple words. Vessel, power, and… Cerebros?

"Magnus! Get in here!"

* * *

The Autobots had arrived. They would soon translate his writing and return him to his home. Once he was home he could leave his vessel and allow the poor child to heal finally.

Prime would take care of that once he came out of his denial about the boy's identity. Then he would look after the boy until he was strong enough to go home and rebuild his life.

AN: Short chap I know but the story took an unexpected detour. R&R R&R R&R R&R R&R R&R


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 8

"You have got be kidding me," Ultra Magnus muttered to himself, reading over the text.

"How did he write this? Scourge doesn't know how to read ancient Cybertronian. Hell Optimus doesn't even know. The only reason I learned was because Alpha Trion thought teaching me would be a good reason to spend more time together," Ultra Magnus shook his head.

"Could you wonder less and translate more," Optimus growled.

"Ok, it basically just talks about how Cerebros was afraid of being found and controlled by the wrong faction," Ultra Magnus explained.

"Well I'd say he was pretty justified in that way of thinking," X-brawn commented dryly.

"Yeah. So he shut away a lot of his power and knowledge in some nearly unreachable part of his processor. He was planning on transferring it into a reliable vessel if it ever looked like the wrong faction was going to get control of him. It would be transferred back once he was safely back on Cybertron with the Autobots. He did the transfer but it says the vessel was too fragile to for it to be kept on an accessible layer. The vessel wasn't even aware of the transfer," Ultra Magnus read.

"Why didn't he transfer it back? He's been back on Cybertron for years," Sideburn pointed out.

"The vessel wasn't though. It stayed behind," Ultra Magnus said.

"Wait. No way. No way in freaking hell, the Pit, or whatever" Sideburn said, catching on first.

"Wait. Are you saying Koji was the vessel?" Optimus asked.

"Well either Koji or that other kid," Ultra Magnus said.

"Carl?"

"Was he the one that got kidnapped after switching clothes with Koji?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah. He and Koji were the only ones that interfaced with Fortress Maximus and that was the only opportunity he had to make the transfer," Ultra Magnus said.

"But they were organic. No pun intended but they don't have the proper hardware," Optimus shook his head.

"Well they did manage to interface with him. Plus the human brain is basically a bunch of electrical flares. It's not all that different from us except it's mostly liquid and some other organic matter," Ultra Magnus pointed out.

"Thank you for the biology lesson. Now tell me how that kid in there got close enough to Cerebros and Fortress Maximus to get this transfer," Optimus practically growled.

"Well obviously he is one of the two kids that interfaced with Fortress Maximus. So unless that Carl kid has been reported missing recently I'd say that kid in there is Koji," Ultra Magnus replied rereading the text.

"So that's Koji? He's really alive," Sideburn asked.

"Not necessarily. We need to run some test to check if his DNA matches existing samples from Dr. Onishi," Optimus said.

"Ok. This is the last time I'm saying this. Stop being so damn cynical," Ultra Magnus ordered.

"Um how about, NO," Optimus growled.

* * *

Cerebros opened his eyes. He could remain conscious for at least an hour. That should be enough time to explain to Prime what needed to be done.

Pressing the call button he asked the nurse to send in the lead Autobot.

* * *

"Hello Prime," Cerebros greeted.

"Where did you learn to write in ancient Cybertronian and who are you?" Optimus demanded.

"You are surprisingly forward when you're upset," Cerebros commented.

"Who are you?" Optimus demanded.

"Who am I? Or who does this body belong to?"

When Optimus didn't answer Cerebros smiled. "You really shouldn't have to ask. You already know the answer to both questions."

"You are not Koji," Optimus stated.

Cerebros's smile faded. "No I am not. But this body is his. If you don't recognize it, then it is because you do not wish to. Scourge recognized it."

"Koji Onishi died three years ago," Optimus growled.

"Where is your proof of that? They never found a body, a finger, or even a bloody footprint. What makes you so certain that the boy is dead?"

"We found his father. I know what they did to him. Koji had even less value to them than he did. Why would they keep Koji alive after killing his father?" Optimus demanded.

"Why did they go after him a second time? Surely the doctors told you about how Scourge rescued this body from a group of 'thugs'. Who do think they were? They were the people who tortured Koji for information he wasn't even aware that he had," Cerebros stated.

"This is Scourge's plan isn't it? To get at me through these mind games," Optimus accused.

To his surprise Cerebros snorted. "I afraid you're vastly overestimating Scourge's creative intellect. His plan was to win Koji's friendship and then rub your nose in it. That was his idea of the perfect revenge."

"But his plan for revenge did include you," Optimus demanded.

"His plan involved Koji. Getting me was an unexpected surprise that he is still unaware of," Cerebros said. "And if we're lucky he'll remain unaware until after I rejoin the rest of myself. He may be starting to find the right path again but it's best not to temped him."

"Why should I help you get anywhere near Fortress Maximus?"

"For one, things will be a lot safer once I'm running at full capacity. And second, Koji will finally be able to start healing mentally," Cerebros explained.

"How will that help this child recover?"

"The fail-safes will be removed. When those men were close to getting the information they wanted I had to activate them to keep them from learning too much. His headaches, the amnesia, and the fainting spells are all precautions to keep the secret," Cerebros explained.

It sounded logical, but Optimus still couldn't believe this was Koji.

"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Koji remembered you as being a lot more trusting," Cerebros commented.

"If Koji has amnesia then how do you know that?"

"Koji has amnesia, not me. I was aware of mostly everything that went on around Koji. Like how two days before his kidnapping you and Koji spoke. He told you he thought of you as a second father." Cerebros knew he'd hit a nerve.

"Shut up," Optimus growled.

"And you told him that he was the closest thing to a son you had," Cerebros continued.

"Shut. Up," Optimus ordered.

"How many people knew that? Koji wouldn't have spread that around because it might have hurt his father. You wouldn't because you worried for Koji's safety," Cerebros said.

Optimus glared and then strode out.

* * *

Ultra Magnus had no time to register what was happening before his brother's fist slammed his faceplate.

"Optimus!" one of the Autobot brothers exclaimed in the background. Ultra Magnus really couldn't tell which through the pain. His brother could pack a punch when he wasn't pissed. And right now, it was hard to miss the rage radiating off the Autobot leader.

"Who did you tell, you bastard!?" Optimus yelled.

"Tell what?" Ultra Magnus asked, pulling himself off the ground.

"Who did you tell about my last conversation with Koji!?" Optimus demanded.

"No one. Why would I have told anybody?"

"Then how does he know what I said to Koji then?" Optimus growled.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because he is Koji."

"No," Optimus hissed. "He is not!"

"Optimus. I get it. You really cared about that kid. He disappeared and it hurt you bad, but Damnit you need to wake up and see reason. Koji's body was never found. There is no guarantee this boy isn't him. Before you go off the deep end just have the test run at the very least," Ultra Magnus advised.

"Fine. To put this matter to rest, I'll have the tests run," Optimus growled before striding off.

AN: Damn I wrote Optimus as practically being frigid. Oh well he'll warm up later. R&R.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9

It was too quiet. There was no movement, no life, no presence other than his own

Usually Scourge liked it that way. No idiots bothering him with their trivial problems. Just him and his own thoughts. Peace and quiet.

It was driving him insane.

Koji hadn't been that noisy. Usually just hovering in the background, not bothering to speak or do anything overly annoying. But his presence had been there, making sure Scourge was aware that the boy was near by. He hadn't really paid all that much attention to it before, but now Scourge found himself missing the boy. For the first time ever he found that he felt lonely.

Scourge looked out at the stars. He was making a slow circuit of the solar system to kill time before he went back for Koji. The Autobots had probably found Koji by now and would soon unravel the boy's identity. After that Optimus would be hard pressed to let Koji out of his sight long enough for Scourge to grab him back.

Which was why Scourge was seriously considering going back for the boy early. He wouldn't be completely healed but he would be better off than when Scourge left him. Maybe…

No. The doctor said that Koji could die if he was moved too early. Scourge wouldn't risk that. But…

Four weeks— well technically two since the medical planet's days were shorter—was a long time. Prime would have time to call in more reinforcements, making it harder to slip in and then slip Koji back out.

Four more days. Then he was going back for Koji.

* * *

Koji had been in and out of consciousness for what seemed like years. He had thought he was getting better. But now he wasn't so sure. He felt worn down, like he'd put in a hard day working on fixing up that warehouse he'd lived in for so long.

Where was Scourge? It had to have been enough time for him to get back. He'd promised to come back for him. He had to. Scourge was the only thing that felt familiar to him. On some level Koji had recognized him as being one of the people from his past. That gave him hope that some day he could remember everyone he forgot. Scourge, the people in his drawings…and the nice man from the prison. Koji knew that man was important to him but he just couldn't remember how.

Koji heard the door to his room open. A large blue figure entered hesitantly. A transformer? Obviously. One of Scourge's enemies? Maybe.

"Koji?" the transformer asked.

Yet again a headache flared through Koji's head, throwing him back into the world of unconsciousness.

* * *

Sideburn let out a sigh. Koji had been awake for a minute when he first came in but then he passed out… again.

He had just wanted to talk to the boy, even if Koji didn't remember him. And from the look Koji had given him, he didn't remember anything about him.

Sideburn felt a pain in his spark. Koji's body was littered with scars. His neck looked horrible with that ugly scar. There were lines and down the insides of his arms, near the veins. Sideburn hoped they weren't self-inflicted. It would kill Optimus to know Koji suffered so much that he tried to take his own life.

Sideburn decided he had seen enough, and turned to leave.

"Did you wish to speak, Autobot?"

Sideburn spun back around to find a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him. His shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Cerebros," he said disappointed.

"I used to get much happier responses from Autobots. I must be losing my touch," Cerebros commented.

"It not that. I was just hoping to speak to Koji," Sideburn said.

"I'm sorry to say that you won't be able to do that until I am 'home'" Cerebros told him.

"Why? Why can't I speak with him?!" Sideburn recoiled instantly after his outburst. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize. Emotions are part of what makes you different from the Decepticons. Embracing the ones the Decepticons consider weak is what gives the Autobots their focus," Cerebros said.

Sideburn didn't know how to respond to that.

"And as for why you can't speak to him, that would be because it would hurt him."

"How do you know it will hurt him?" Sideburn demanded.

"It already has. He was awake when you came in. Your presence, like everyone else who is connected to his past with the Autobots, hurts him. It's to keep the secret safe. It's a safeguard," Cerebros explained.

"Does Scourge's presence hurt him?" Sideburn asked.

"No. I'm not quite sure why, but Scourge doesn't setoff any of the safeguards," Cerebros shook his head, not use to not having all the answers.

* * *

The hospital planet was just coming into sight in the distance. So it had only been a week since he left but Koji should have recovered somewhat since then. The boy hadn't exactly been on deaths door then either. Koji would be fine. He could rest on the trip to Cybertron.

Scourge had already decided that it was long past time he took Koji to Cybertron. His main reason for putting it off so long was that he had been worried about making it too easy for Prime to find them. But now he figured Prime could find them wherever he took Koji.

Scourge felt a strange new understanding for Prime. The Autobot would go to the ends of the universe for Koji, and Scourge was now certain he would too.

* * *

It matched.

They'd had a copy of Koji's genetic code on file on the Autobot mainframe for some reason or another. Optimus had had T-Ai send it to them to compare with a sample taken from the boy.

The samples matched.

Koji was alive.

Koji was in that room.

Koji was… Never going to forgive him for this.

'Slag,' Optimus thought to himself.

* * *

Scourge was here. Cerebros could sense him getting closer. He was already on planet and making a beeline for the hospital. Cerebros estimated that he'd be here within the hour.

Doing a quick check he determined that Koji wasn't well enough to travel yet. This could be bad. Cerebros had expected Scourge to stay away longer. He should have stayed away until the Autobots thought Koji was safe and relaxed their guard. Then he would have struck. That was what Scourge would have done during the Earth battles.

But something was different now.

He hadn't been lying when he said Scourge wasn't meant for darkness, and that his spark wasn't beyond hope. But he hadn't realized that Scourge was already changing.

Now Scourge was caught in transition between Decepticon and Autobot, the programing of both faction warring with each other inside of him. He was confused and thinking irrationally. He'd be unpredictable now.

Cerebros would need to work quickly if he was to turn this to his advantage. First he'd have to make sure Koji was well enough to travel when Scourge arrived. Summoning his own power that he kept hidden deep inside Koji, he set to work boosting the body's natural healing abilities.

* * *

Koji blinked. He felt more awake now than he had since before he got sick. There was no more pain. He took a deep breath to see if there was any pain in his shoulders or ribs. Nothing

He was healed. The doctors here must have been better than he thought. A few hours ago he was drifting in and out of consciousness with every nerve ending in his body screaming.

While he was marveling at his quick recovery the door to his room slid open.

He looked up to see a most welcome sight.

"Scourge," he said with a smile lighting up his face.

**AN**: I've been away for a week and before that was going through one of my nervous breakdowns. But a week at my grandma's helped me get over that. The new chapter of 'Matches' will be up soon. **R&R R&R R&R R&R**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 10

Scourge smiled under his facemask at Koji's enthusiastic greeting. The boy certainly sounded healthy. Healthy enough to get out of this place at least.

"Hello Koji, miss me?" Scourge asked in amusement.

"Didn't have time," Koji smiled.

"A whole week and you didn't have time to miss me?" Scourge asked, with mock hurt. Seeing Koji was enough to bring out the lighter side of himself that he hadn't even realized he had.

"A week?" Koji shook his head. "It's been a week? I must have lost track of time while I was asleep," he said more to himself than Scourge.

"How long were you asleep?" Scourge asked, suddenly very worried that Koji wasn't as far along in his recovery as he appeared to be.

"Since the Autobots got here I think. I remember a red one," Koji said thinking back to before he fell into that deep lasting sleep. "He looked kind of like you. He said some stuff, I don't remember what. I had a headache." Actually he had one now.

"Don't worry about that right now. We need to get you out of here before the Autobots realize I'm back," Scourge recommended.

"Uh sure... Do you know where my clothes are?" Koji looked down at his revealing hospital gown and blushed. It did nothing to hide the scars on his legs, which he had to admit were even worse than the one on his neck. Someone must have gotten artsy with a switchblade once. Koji looked disdainfully down at the zigzagging lines that ran down his legs like a mountain chain. Not a very pleasant reminder of his past.

"Don't they usually put those in closets or drawers?" Scourge asked about the clothes. There wasn't anything in this room that looked like it might be holding the boy's clothes.

"We really don't have time to look for them. You'll just have to make do with a sheet or something till we get to the ship. I picked up some clothes when I stopped for supplies yesterday." He'd figured Koji could use some new clothes anyway. The ones he had been wearing were getting a little ragged. And they had started to stink.

Koji reluctantly nodded and grabbed the sheet off the bed before wrapping it around him like a cloak. It wasn't going to be the inconspicuous of outfits but then again Scourge wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous of Transformers.

"This way," Scourge said leading Koji out toward the back hallways that were mostly only used by maintenance workers. Hopefully he'd have as much luck getting out as he did getting in.

* * *

Sideburn had been wandering aimlessly around the hospital for a good hour. After his conversation with Cerebros he needed some time to himself so he could think.

His best friend, who before now everyone had believed was dead, was not only still alive but possessed by a Cybertronian peace weapon. Either Sideburn's life had had just become a soap opera or this was a really messed up parody of _The Mouse that Roared_.

That wasn't the only thing that was bothering him though. Those scars on Koji's arms. Sideburn had always had a basic idea about what had happened to Dr. Onishi, but he had never allowed himself to think of what might have happened to Koji.

Sideburn stopped walking and let himself fall back against the wall. He really didn't want to think about what went on after Koji and his father were taken, but the scars on the boy's arms… Had Koji really tried to take his own life? Had things really gotten that bad? Maybe after his father died Koji hadn't seen the point in living. Maybe he thought they were just going to kill him too. Maybe he thought he could just save his captors the time and effort.

Whatever it was, Sideburn didn't know. But those scars were self-inflicted, he was sure of it.

Approaching footsteps made him look up. Standing twenty feet away was Scourge and Koji, looking just as surprised to see him as he was to see them.

* * *

Prowl couldn't help but wonder where his younger brother had gotten off to. He said he needed some time to himself but really, this was just getting ridiculous.

Prowl knew Sideburn had been in to see Koji, and from the slump of his brother's shoulders when he came out of the boy's room Prowl could guess things hadn't gone so well. So he had decided to give his little brother an hour to sulk and then drag him back to tell him exactly what happened when he spoke with Koji.

So caught up in his search for his brother, Prowl almost didn't see Optimus before he ran headlong into him.

"Whoa, careful," Optimus advised catching middle Autobot brother before he fell. "Anything wrong?" he asked setting Prowl back on his feet.

"I can't find Sideburn. He's been off sulking for over an hour. Usually he'll stay close to either X-brawn or I when he gets like this," Prowl explained.

"Really? He seemed fine when I last saw him. Any reason for the sudden mood change?"

"He went in to see Koji. I think he's upset Koji still doesn't recognize him." Strangely, Prowl noted, Optimus didn't deny the boy's identity.

"When was this?"

"An hour and a half ago, sir."

Optimus was hit with a sudden wave of dread for some reason. Knowing that they really had found Koji was heightening his protective instincts. "Go check on the boy. I'll look for Sideburn."

"Sir?" Prowl wondered at the commander's sudden change in temperament.

"Just go check on Koji," Optimus ordered before running off down the hallway, leaving a confused Prowl in his wake.

"He called him Koji," Prowl whispered to himself. So it was true. They'd finally found Koji.

* * *

Optimus didn't know why or how but he was certain that something was wrong. He felt… something. A chill in his circuits that he only ever got when an enemy was near. Warrior's instinct his creator had called it. Whatever it was it was screaming at him that something was very wrong.

Where would Sideburn have gone? They were all under strict orders not to leave the building without permission. So where would Sideburn have gone to be alone?

Optimus figured the maintenance halls would be a good place to start.

* * *

Prowl knew he was gripping the doorframe too hard when he felt his finger starting to sink into the metal, forming an imprint of his hand. This was bad. Koji's bed was empty and the boy was nowhere to be seen.

How could this have happened? Koji had all but been in a coma an hour ago. There was no way he just got up and walked out on his own. There was only one explanation.

"Optimus," Prowl said turning on his comm. "I think Scourge was here."

He heard Optimus give a solemn sigh on the other end of the link. "I think so too."

"Koji's gone," Prowl reported.

"And I've found Sideburn."

* * *

As the hospital planet faded into the distance, neither Scourge nor Koji could say they were sorry to see the last of it.

"Where are we going now?" Koji asked looking up at Scourge.

"Cybertron," Scourge answered, still watching the planet as if to reassure himself that the Autobot's weren't coming after them yet.

Koji's head whipped up in shock. "What? Isn't that where the Autobots live?"

"Yes, but it is also where Decepticon army is now based. I have a few old… acquaintances," Scourge decided was the right word for them, "that should be willing to help us"

Koji just nodded. Another issue was fighting for his attention right now. That blue Autobot they'd run into on the way out of the hospital. It was the one who came into his room just this morning. Earlier he had been too tired to really look at the transformer. But in that hallway, for just a second he could have sworn he knew the blue 'Bot.

For the first time Koji wondered about the time before the prison. Had he had friends? Family? A mother and a father? A home with more than thin metal walls that did nothing to keep out the cold? Maybe he'd had a real bed too, instead of the sleeping bag Mr. Ryoichi had given him to keep warm.

It wasn't until Scourge asked him if he was ok that he realized he had tears slipping silently down his face.

AN: R&R and all that good stuff.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 11

He felt weightless, like he was floating. Had the gravity inducer been turned off? No, he remembered them landing on the hospital planet, so the gravity inducer wouldn't really matter. But what had happened then? The last thing he remembered was wandering the back halls, generally feeling just plain miserable when—

"Koji!" Sideburn gasped, sitting up so fast his head spun. In a moment of panic when he felt himself falling back, Sideburn threw his elbow back in an attempt to break his fall. It struck something with a loud clang.

"Fragging Hell! Watch it kid!" Ultra Magnus hissed clutching his head.

Not really stopping to wonder where he was or why Ultra Magnus had been leaning over him, Sideburn scrambled to sit up again, this time succeeding. "Koji. Scourge has Koji. We've got to—"

"We know," Ultra Magnus said, pushing the over eager Autobot back down.

"You don't understand. He could hurt him," Sideburn tried to sit up again.

"He won't," Ultra Magnus asserted pushing him back.

"We don't know that," Sideburn insisted sitting up again.

"Yes we do," Ultra Magnus gave him a shove. "Now if you try to get up again I'm calling one of your brothers."

The threat succeeded in distracting Sideburn for all of one minute "Which one?"

"Whichever one is more likely to sit on you to keep you still."

"Prowl?"

"Nice try."

"Slag."

"Are you gonna stay here now or am I going to have to call X-brawn?" Ultra Magnus asked.

The momentary distraction gone, Sideburn's expression faded back to dejection. "But Koji…He has Koji."

"Don't worry. Once Optimus and your brothers finish getting our supplies together we'll be heading out after him," Ultra Magnus assured. Inwardly though he questioned the wisdom of having Sideburn along for this mission. It was no secret that he'd taken Koji's disappearance hard. Hell Optimus had given the young Autobot a few months mandatory leave after the funeral. Quite honestly Ultra Magnus didn't the kid was holding together very well now.

"But Optimus is treating this like a regular kidnapping!" the dejection in Sideburns voice had been replaced by anger.

"Which is exactly as he should be treating it. As much as I love to jump on the bandwagon to bash Optimus, even I've got to admit that he's doing the right thing."

"But—"

"No buts. If he starts thinking of that kid as Koji his judgment will be clouded and Scourge will have another advantage he doesn't need."

Sideburn settled down, duly chastised. For a moment Ultra Magnus felt a pang of guilt but quickly pushed it away. This wasn't the time to be coddling feelings. If Optimus insisted on allowing Sideburn to continue on with this mission the kid had to get it together.

"Relax alright. Optimus cares about Koji just as much as you do. He's gonna get Koji back," Ultra Magnus was hoping to appeal to Sideburn's complete and total trust in Optimus. Sideburn didn't take the bait.

"But he won't believe it's Koji!" So much for complete and total trust.

Ultra Magnus snorted. "Even Prime can't argue with DNA evidence."

"He going to have them compare the DNA?" Sideburn seemed surprised. But then again last thing the kid had heard from Prime was a few staunch denials that there was any possibility that there was any connection between Koji Onishi and the boy Scourge had kidnapped.

"Already done. It's a match."

"You mean—"

"It's Koji."

* * *

"Hmm…" Koji racked his brain to remember just what shape the blue bot's shield had been. Like the roof of a car, including the windshield and rear window, but without the side windows. It had been big enough to cover the entire length of the Bot's left arm.

There, it was finished.

Koji sat back and examined his drawing. It was strangely comforting. The blue Bot was smiling sheepishly in a defensive huddle against some scolding, yet unseen figure. Koji didn't know why, but the pose seemed fitting. The blue Bot had seemed like a troublemaker.

Koji smiled. There was a picture just like this one back home on his wall. Somehow, he'd seen this Bot before 'the prison', and the revelation wasn't giving him a headache. Maybe it was because he wasn't pushing himself to remember when he'd seen the Bot. Or maybe he was finally getting better. He hadn't had a headache when he saw the Bot back at the hospital so it could be that he was starting to heal.

Just then Koji felt a familiar tingling at the back of his eyes. Not a headache but…As he blinked his eyes went from brown to gold.

Cerebros marveled at how easy it was to take control even though Koji had been fully conscious. It should have been much harder than this. Koji should be fighting him for control, not compliantly giving in.

This was not good. He'd waited too long to return to Cybertron. If he and Koji continued to share a body the boy's personality would become permanently recessive even after they were separated.

It was time to get to work.

* * *

"That's the last of it," X-brawn said heaving the final crate into the hold.

"Good, the sooner we can get out of here the sooner we catch up with Scourge and Koji," Prowl stated. A moment of silence followed this proclamation.

X-brawn was the one to break it. "Do you think Sideburn's up to this?"

"I honestly don't know. This whole thing is bringing up a lot of bad memories for him. Looking at him now, it's like we're right back to the time right after the funeral we held for Koji. Sideburn's depressed, irritable, and irrational. It's like we're losing him again," Prowl admitted sadly.

"We never lost him baby brother," X-brawn assured. They'd come close to losing Sideburn though. Really close.

* * *

It was done. Cerebros breathed a sigh of relief as he lay down on Koji's bedroll. Their course was subtly altered so that Scourge wouldn't realize anything was amiss until the last minute. By then it would too late, they would already be headed for the deserted plain where his body would hopefully be waiting for him.

* * *

"Koji… Koji… Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Koji groggily opened his eyes.

"You've been asleep for over of twelve hours, Koji. I'm fairly sure that that's normal," Scourge said, the worry clearly evident in his voice. Koji had scared him.

"I'm probably still a little out of it from being sick. It's nothing to worry about," Koji tried assure him. He didn't tell Scourge that this was hardly the first time he'd slept a little too long. His friend might think that something more was wrong with him than just being tired. Scourge worried enough as it was.

_His friend_. He hadn't really thought of Scourge as his friend since Scourge told him they hadn't been friends when they knew each other before. He hadn't had much time to think on it while in the hospital, but he had thought about it a little. Why hadn't they been friends? They got along well enough now, so why not in the past?

Just then something outside the window caught Koji's eye.

"Is that…?" he started to ask.

"Cybertron," Scourge confirmed.

AN: R&R. Hmm…. I bet you wondering 'How do the Autobots know about DNA?'. Well I have no idea.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing

AN: As of last week I am a high school graduate. So I should be free to write until fall when college starts.

Chapter 12

"Metal?"

Scourge looked up from the console at his young friend's question. "Yes. Cybertron's surface is made up completely of metal."

"Just it's surface or the whole planet?"

"The whole planet for the most part. The core is made up of an organic matter but that's about it," Scourge explained.

"Metal. Never would have guessed" he chuckled at Scourge's confused expression. "Earth is made up of dirt and rock. So were the last two planets we've been to. I never really thought there would be a planet completely covered in metal."

"Hmmm. Humans are strange," Scourge commented. Koji just grinned in response.

* * *

They weren't going fast enough. Without any unscheduled stops the trip from the hospital planet back to Cybertron should have taken twenty-four hours. They were sixteen hours out and only a little over half way there.

Desperate for something to occupy his nervous hands Sideburn began tapping out a cadence on his armrest. He stopped a moment later when he realized that he was unconsciously matching the beat to the song that had been played at Koji's funeral.

_It was the most depressing music Sideburn had ever heard. It was part of some human tradition, at least that was what Prowl had told him._

_There'd been a lot of traditional stuff before the actual funeral. They'd been left out of that part though. Whether it was for practicality or if the Onishi's relatives just didn't think they had a right to share in their grief, Sideburn didn't know. To be honest he didn't really care. The funeral itself was unnerving enough._

_No one was crying. For such an emotional race, these humans sure weren't showing much feeling. Tears, a sniffle, maybe a choked sob. He had expected to see something like that, but not this. These people were just standing around, staring solemnly ahead. Was this another tradition? Was crying not allowed at human funerals? Or did these people just not care? Were Koji and his father really that alone in the world? Had they truly only had each other?_

_Koji had friends, but no brother's or sisters. No mother that had ever been mentioned. During the short time that they had known him, Dr. Onishi never spoke of having a wife. Did Koji have cousins or aunts and uncles? There was bad blood between Dr. Onishi and his father. Koji said that he had only met his grandfather once and the man had refused to acknowledge him then._

_Sideburn had always been amazed at Koji's resilience. Koji lived a fairly lonely life, at least from Sideburn's perspective—how could a life without any siblings be anything but lonely? But Koji never got depressed. He cried every once in a while when his father was missing, but that was it. The boy always had a friendly smile for him when he needed it no matter what else was happening._

_But not anymore. Sideburn's gaze returned to the small box that contained a few of Koji's favorite possessions. They were supposed to take the place of the boy's missing body, Prowl had explained earlier._

_How could you have a funeral without a body? From what Sideburn had read the whole concept of a funeral was to lay the body of the deceased to rest. How could they do that without Koji? This was ridiculous._

_And where were Koji's friends? Carl and Jenny were nowhere to be seen. Didn't any of his classmates want to come see him off?_

_Primus, he made it sound like Koji was leaving on vacation or something._

_This whole thing sucked. _

The Funeral had gone on for another hour. When it was over the humans had just left. No lingering by the graveside, remembering the dead or saying the final farewells.

That wasn't true. One man had lingered awhile, but it was Dr. Onishi's grave he lingered by. The human stayed only five minutes before departing with a slight nodded of acknowledgement to Optimus. Optimus, when questioned, identified the man as Dr. Onishi's older brother. So someone did care a little.

* * *

Something was wrong with the controls. Scourge couldn't get the autopilot to disengage. This made no sense; he'd just run a diagnostic on the ship a week ago while Koji was still on the hospital planet.

His fingers flew over the keyboard as he tried to determine what had changed.

"Scourge?"

"Yes Koji?" Scourge asked, not taking his attention from the screen.

"Have I ever been here before?" the boy questioned, staring hard at the surface of the planet through the front window.

"No Koji. A few weeks ago was the first time you've ever left Earth."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then why does this place look so familiar?"

"Hmm?" Scourge glanced out the front window. Right now it over looked a wide barren plain. It was non-descript, resembling at least a dozen others that were scattered across Cybertron's surface. "You may have seen a picture of it or of a place similar to this before."

Scourge turned his attention back to the console. There was a notice blinking at the bottom of the screen.

"Koji, did you do anything to this console?"

Koji blinked up at him. "No. Why?"

"Because someone changed our destination coordinates and locked out the manual controls."

"Well don't look at me. I can't even reach the keyboard."

There was that. Plus Koji wouldn't know the first thing about altering their course, much less locking up the manual steering device. It was a complicated process; the odds of Koji doing it completely by accident were very low.

"Umm… Scourge?"

"Yes Koji?"

"What's that?"

Scourge looked up in time to see a large structure rising from the ground.

"...Fortress Maximus?"

* * *

"Sir?"

Optimus looked up from his paperwork. "Yes Prowl?"

"We just received a message from T-Ai. Scourge's ship was reported landing on Cybertron an hour ago."

Optimus suppressed a sigh. That meant that Koji was now no better off than a prisoner in enemy territory. Getting him back would be nearly impossible. And thanks to Cerebros' 'fail safes' Koji had no idea what kind of danger he was really in.

"Thank you Prowl," he said in dismissal.

"Sir."

"Yes Prowl?"

"They didn't land in Decepticon territory like we expected, sir."

"What?" Impossible, Scourge wouldn't risk delaying his return as leader of the Decepticon army any longer than necessary now that he knew that they were on his trail.

"Scourge and Koji are currently somewhere in the northern section of the Neutral Plains."

"What could he possibly want— … Oh no," Optimus groaned. Scourge must have figured it out. He knew that Cerebros had taken up residence in Koji's head. He was going to try and use Koji to control Fortress Maximus... again.

"Prowl, alter our set course. I want us to set down about twenty miles from Scourge's recorded landing site," Optimus ordered.

"Sir?"

"We can't afford for Scourge to detect us landing nearby. It will be harder to detect us sneaking up on foot," Optimus stated. "He may be in control of Fortress Maximus by the time we arrive. Stealth will be our best bet."

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Ugh," Scourge groaned as he slowly began to regain consciousness. The return to consciousness was followed quickly by the memory of the not so spectacular landing he had endured.

The ship had remained unresponsive as it continued it's descent. The autopilot, which was not capable of landing the ship safely, had refused to disengage forcing him and Koji to brace for impact in the final moments they crashed.

Now Scourge was alone in a dark barren room.

"Koji?" he called out for his young friend. There was no response.

Scourge guessed he was somewhere in Fortress Maximus. But where was Koji? He had been crouching near him when the ship crashed. Whoever had put him in this room must have taken Koji.

Why though? What use did anyone with control of Fortress Maximus have with either him or Koji? He didn't think the Autobots were still in command of Fortress Maximus. Besides, if this was their doing they'd have a few armed guards in here with him.

Footsteps. He could hear footsteps from the corridor. They sounded like they belonged to a fairly small transformer. Someone he could overpower if the opportunity arose.

The calm, confident tread came to a halt just outside the closed doors. It looked like the opportunity would be arising sooner than expected. The doors slid open.

* * *

"Fortress Maximus is still dormant, sir," Prowl announced from his hiding spot.

Optimus nodded not taking his eyes from the structure ahead of them. "That could just mean that Scourge is trying to bait us into coming out into the open."

"Or it could mean he hasn't detected our approach," Sideburn piped up optimistically.

"Not likely," Optimus responded.

"Are we sure that Scourge is even in control?" Ultra Magnus asked. "From the look of that wreckage I'd have to say that whatever Scourge was planning, it's not going quite the way he'd hoped it would."

"What makes you say that?" Sideburn asked.

"When's the last time you heard of a small ship malfunctioning and crashing without there being some outside influences helping it along?" Ultra Magnus threw back.

"Never really," Sideburn admitted.

"And it doesn't help matters that nothing about this really makes all that much sense."

"How, may I ask dear brother, does this not make sense?" Optimus asked.

"Well think about it. If your main objective was control of the super weapon that Cerebros controls, who would you rather deal with, a Cerebros with limited mental capacity and will follow your every order or a Cerebros that is fully sentient and can rebel?"

"I'd want obedience," Optimus admitted after a moment.

"So the last thing you would do was take an organic carrying Cerebros's complete consciousness around in his subconscious to Fortress Maximus, the place where the transference occurred in the first place and can likely be reversed."

Optimus nodded in agreement. This didn't make sense. Could it be possible that Scourge wasn't in control? But if he wasn't, then who was?

* * *

"Koji," Scourge breathed a sigh of relief. His young friend looked shaken but unharmed, standing beside Cerebros.

"Yes, the boy is well despite your less than graceful landing," Cerebros assured him. Odd, Cerebros had never spoken before, at least not to Scourge's knowledge.

"Why are we here?" Scourge asked, and then he winced. There was a time when he would have demanded an answer rather than request one.

"_You_ are here because it couldn't be avoided. I needed to get Koji here as quickly as possible so I was forced to hijack your ship while you were still on it," Cerebros said nonchalantly.

"How?" that was better. It sort of sounded like a demand.

Whatever answer Cerebros may have given was cut off by a chime.

"Hmp. The Autobots are here. I wasn't expecting them for at least another few hours."

"The Autobots?" Scourge questioned warily. He wasn't in any condition to be taking on Prime and his forces on without backup.

"Don't worry, no harm will come to either party while you are still within the fortress," Cerebros assured.

"What about after we leave?" Scourge asked.

"That is your concern, not mine," Cerebros said cheerily. "Now, I have guests to welcome. Goodbye." With that he turned on his heal and left.

For a short moment Scourge just gaped after him. Something was very different about Cerebros. And Scourge wasn't sure he liked the change.

Scourge pulled himself away that train of thought to focus on Koji, who had been uncharacteristically silent through the exchange.

"Koji? Are you ok?"

Koji huddled into himself, stubbornly refusing to pull his gaze away from the floor.

"Koji," Scourge went to kneel by him. "Are you hurt?"

Koji shook his head. He wasn't hurt, but his stance declared that he was wounded.

Oh no. Scourge's spark sank in dread. Koji knew. Koji remembered.

"Koji, please—" Scourge started to explain.

"You attacked me… before. Yo—you tried to hurt me. W—why?" Koji asked brokenly, finally looking up to meet Scourge's gaze.

"It was my job Koji. You were my enemy." The look of betrayal and hurt in Koji's eyes was tearing at Scourge's spark.

"I still am aren't I? I may not remember much, but I know what side you were fighting for. I wouldn't become part of that under any circumstance," Koji's voice shook with this declaration, but there was steel in it. It wasn't an empty vow.

"You didn't have to. After Prime left Earth you were no longer actively allied with the Autobots. You are no longer my enemy."

"Then why did you come after me again?"

"Because Prime cares about you. And I hate Prime."

"… Who is 'Prime'?"

AN: Hehehe, it's not all back yet, but it will be. The unexpected detour I wrote myself into is now taken care of. yay. R&R


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: Slow starting up but there will be the long awaited confrontation between Scourge and the Autobots… at least I think you guys have been waiting for it…

Chapter 13

Scourge stared at him dumbly. Koji had admitted to not remembering everything, but he did remember enough to know that they had been on opposite sides. So how was it possible that he could not remember Prime, who played such a crucial role in Koji's choice in alliance? Not that the boy would ally himself with his father's kidnappers, but an observant boy like Koji would have noticed the similarities between the Autobots and the Predicons from the beginning. That alone would have made him suspicious of the Autobots' motives. Somehow, Prime had managed to allay those fears and suspicions. He'd gained the boy's complete and unwavering trust.

Maybe it was merely the name that threw him off. Koji would have referred to Prime as Optimus.

"Optimus Prime. He was your friend. He brought you into the war to help the Autobots find energy resources after Megatron kidnapped your father" he spoke of names and events that must have played through Koji's mind often in the past, either as stray thoughts or as nightmares. Either way they should be very familiar to Koji.

But Koji just shook his head in denial. None of it sounded familiar to him. Except for the last word. That caught his attention. And with it came memories.

"My father. Kenneth Onishi. I remember him," Koji said in surprise. "He was a scientist, an archeologist. He traveled a lot. To digs, conferences too. He took me with him sometimes, when I didn't have school," Koji babbled the knowledge out as it came to him. "He didn't like his family. They didn't like me. He said they didn't matter to him, that I was all that mattered. He didn't need anyone else. He did miss them though. His brothers especially." Sadness started to creep into his voice. "But he wouldn't back down. He chose me over them. He always chose me. That's what killed him," Koji stopped, tears started to stream down his face.

"My father's dead. The guards beat him to death for trying to escape. He would have made it too. But I was hurt. I couldn't move fast enough. We were caught." Sadness, regret, guilt. Scourge could hear all three emotions in Koji's voice.

"Koji."

"God. By the time they killed him I didn't even remember who he was," Koji whispered in horror.

* * *

Cerebros all but swaggered down the corridor. It was great to be back in his own body. Not that anything was wrong with Koji's body, but it had gotten pretty crowded in there lately. After Scourge had shown up parts of Koji's personality that had lain dormant for the past few years had started to reemerge, pushing him further back into the subconscious. He'd had to push to keep some of his control.

It had taken a lot of effort the first few days, but then, suddenly, the resistance had just stopped. Some part of Koji just stopped fighting. Cerebros didn't know why, but Koji had been giving up. That was why he pulled out all the stops getting home. He'd taken far more risks getting home than he normally would have even considered taking. If the circumstances had been different, he'd have waited until he could slip away without Scourge noticing until he was long gone.

As it was, he really had no idea what to do with the Decepticon. Or if he should do anything with him at all. Scourge was no longer a danger to Koji. He genuinely cared for him now in a manner very similar to the way Prime did. Despite this similarity in feelings Cerebros doubted that Scourge's new found nobility had anything to do with Prime or his connection to Scourge from when the Decepticon accidentally scanned him while attempting to acquire alternate mode. It was more likely that Koji's influence had brought about this change of heart rather than anything Prime had done.

Onto the next matter, Koji would be fine. He would heal eventually. His memories would provide him more than a few nightmares in the beginning but once he adjusted they would become less of a problem. Prime would see to it.

Speaking of which he should probably let them in before they tried to blast the front door in.

* * *

After his revelation about his father Koji had simply collapsed in the corner, not crying anymore but merely staring off into space.

Scourge worried that the boy might be suffering some sort of mental breakdown as a result of his memories returning. Or it could simply be his way of processing the bad memories. Either way his unnatural stillness was unnerving.

Not for the first time, Scourge wondered what exactly Koji's memories held. Obviously Koji had witnessed his father's death, but what else had occurred during his incarceration. Koji's scars stood out starkly against his pale skin, giving testament to the abuse he had suffered.

Each one had a story attached. What those stories were, Scourge doubted he would ever know. Koji wasn't likely to tell him now that his trust in him was broken.

* * *

Years ago, when they first discovered Fortress Maximus on Earth, Optimus had spent days memorizing the old schematics they had on file in the database. At the time he thought that if he ever had to use his knowledge of the structure it would be to go up against Megatron if the Predicon leader ever gained control of Cerebros. He'd never thought that he would need to break into Fortress Maximus when he had no idea just what kind of threat he and is men would be up against.

Back then he had thought he was smarter than that.

He was risking his life, the lives of his men, his brother's life, and-- depending on who they were up against--Koji's life.

"The corridor is clear, sir," Prowl reported after scouting ahead.

Optimus nodded, he then signaled Ultra Magnus to follow him into the corridor. Sideburn and X-brawn followed closely behind while Prowl hung back a little to guard their rear.

* * *

God, this was just too much. There were so many memories. So much had happened. It was hard to get a handle on them.

Scourge was in a few. Those memories were blurry though. Like an old photo. They were laced with fear and anger. At one time he'd hated Scourge. He couldn't remember why yet, but he was sure there was a reason for it other than their different allegiances. He hadn't hated all of the Decepticons or Predicons. He'd actually considered Sky-byte a friend.

What was curiously absent from his memories were his former allies. He didn't remember anything about the Autobots or the mysterious 'Prime' Scourge had spoken of other than that he had worked with them. He didn't know if they were his friends or if he even liked them. Maybe he despised them as much as he used to despise Scourge.

* * *

"What took you so long Prime?"Cerebros greeted the Autobot commander with a wry grin.

"Cerebros?" Optimus didn't know why he was surprised to find the red mech greeting them at the end of the long corridor. After their talk at the hospital he should have realized he was planning something.

"Yes. I am fully restored," Cerebros answered the unasked question.

"I assume that means that Koji is fully restored as well?" Optimus queried, optics narrowing in suspicion.

"He will be," Cerebros' smile fell slightly but did not vanish completely.

"What do you mean 'will be'?" Sideburn asked, a little suspicion clouding his voice as well.

"I mean that he will be well again with time," Cerebros said.

"Take us to him," Optimus demanded.

"Of course," Cerebros agreed, smirking mischievously now.

* * *

Scourge was still contemplating how to approach Koji when he heard the familiar clatter of footsteps outside the door. He thought for a moment about moving closer to Koji, but decided against it, doubting the boy would appreciate his unneeded protection.

Koji's ears pricked up at the sound, finally coming back to himself. For a moment he stared at the door in confusion, then to Scourge's shock he swiftly dashed across the room and took cover behind the Decepticon's leg. Before he could question the boy's sudden change of mind, the door slid open.

Optimus bristled at the sight of Scourge. It hadn't occurred to him that Cerebros might not have separated his two 'guests'. "Scourge," he acknowledged, his tone chilly.

"Prime," Scourge glared.

"Where's Koji?" Sideburn demanded, his patience finally running out. Scourge didn't answer, he merely tilted his head arrogantly giving the impression that under his battle mask he was sneering. Behind him, Scourge felt Koji stiffen at the sound of his name being said by this stranger.

"Koji is in this room. There is no need for an interrogation Sideburn," Cerebros chastised the blue mech. Then turning back to Scourge he said "It's ok Koji. They won't hurt you."

Silently, Koji peered around the side of Scourge's leg providing the Autobots with a view of his right eye. His eyes scanned the Autobots faces, hoping that at least one of them would look familiar. He remembered the red mech and the blue mech from the hospital but not before that. The other three Autobots didn't spark the slightest bit of recognition at all.

"Koji?" the blue mech was talking to him. He seemed to be in awe, of what Koji didn't know. Then the blue mech's face broke out into a heartbreakingly sincere smile. Koji felt a ripple of shock go through him. This stranger was happy to see_ him_? He ventured further, stepping completely out from behind Scourge to get a better look at the Autobot.

"Buddy?" the mech stepped closer, eliciting a growl from Scourge. The other Autobots took this as a threat, immediately bringing their weapons to bear on Scourge.

"I believe I informed you all of my strict 'no violence' rule," Cerebros intoned with annoyance. The Autobots reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Now," Cerebros continued. "Scourge please refrain from antagonizing the Autobots. You've led them on a difficult chase and they have little problem with killing you for it." Scourge didn't seem phased by this threat but he did take a step back so that he was standing next to Koji rather than in front of him.

"Very little," the red mech growled.

"Prime, please refrain from using threatening tones please. Koji is not fully recovered. I'd prefer you not scare him."

The red mech, Prime, looked relatively chastened.

"You're Prime?" Koji asked. Prime seemed surprised by the question but he answered anyway.

"Yes Koji. But you've always called me Optimus" Prime--Optimus—answered. "Do you remember me?"

"No," Koji shook his head. "I don't remember any of you."

AN: That took forever. I promise a knock down drag out fight in the next chapter. R&R


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: Sorry, what took so long was I couldn't figure out how to escalate things into a fight.

Chapter 14

Sideburn felt his spark constrict. Koji still didn't remember them? How? Cerebros said that once he separated from Koji, Koji's memories would return.

Optimus was feeling a similar constriction around his spark, but he ignored it. Koji had been conditioned for years to suppress his memories. It would take a while for him to break that conditioning even though the restrictions were gone now. Cerebros himself said that it would take time.

Time, and their help. Optimus turned to look at Cerebros. On their way here after they met up with Cerebros, the emissary had told them that he intended for them to take care of Koji until he recovered fully. It was a job better suited to one of Koji's own people. Except that the humans didn't hold Koji's past anymore. They no longer held his future either.

Cerebros smiled and nodded back at him, glad that the Autobot commander finally understood.

Optimus, ignoring Scourge completely, knelt before Koji. "We're your friends Koji. You met us several years ago when our war with the Predicons shifted to your planet," he explained.

"I remember them. The big purple guy, Megatron, he took my father," Koji said a brief look of pain flashing across his face.

"Yes he did and the night he did, you called for help. I'm the one that responded to your call that night," Optimus went on.

"I don't remember that," Koji looked disappointed.

"It was a cold night. You were very frightened. It may take you longer to remember the bad memories," Optimus said comfortingly.

"But I remember my dad dying, and that was a bad memory," Koji said ruefully, not really protesting, just pointing out a fact.

"Your father's death occurred after the initial loss of your memories Koji. You may not have been aware of who he was but you were aware that he was no longer there," Scourge spoke quietly. Optimus gave the Decepticon a startled glance, but did nothing else, deciding it best to continue with his story.

"You became our ally and our friend. You helped us fight the Predicons and the Decepticons even after your father's rescue."

"Which was more Sky-byte's doing than yours," Scourge grumbled.

"The shark with the fishing lure?" Koji asked.

"Yes," Optimus nodded. "You remember Sky-byte?"

"Yeah, he was my friend I…think," Koji's conviction on the subject was clearly only dubious at best. Optimus couldn't help but chuckle at the befuddled look on Koji's face. Trying to determine Sky-byte's true character had often led him to a similar state of confusion.

"He was your friend, though sometimes your friendship clashed with his loyalty to Megatron," Optimus continued. "He did, however, return your father to you."

"That I remember," Koji nodded, a thoughtful smile playing on his lips.

Optimus smiled under his mask. "Do you remember what happened directly after that?"

"I remember hugging Dad, but that's about it."

"We were there," Sideburn spoke up, almost desperately. "We thought Sky-byte was trying to kidnap you. We were protecting you."

"Someone picked me up," Koji said, his eyes searching their faces until they landed on Prowl. "You."

"I was concerned that Sky-byte may have injured you," if it was possible Prowl would be blushing.

"Sky-byte didn't have the stomach to harm a human," Scourge said dryly.

Koji frowned at him. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"For Megatron's second it was," Scourge responded, shifting uncomfortably. Koji's censure reminded him that he was still on the boy's bad side for his deception. Guilt was not a common emotion for a Decepticon, especially him.

"You were Megatron's second," Sideburn scowled at Scourge.

"I was his favorite at one time, but I was never his second. That was always Sky-byte's place," Scourge denied.

"Hmph," Sideburn snorted skeptically.

"I believe you are supposed to be helping Koji with his memories rather than picking a fight amongst yourselves," Cerebros interceded before much more could come of this new argument.

Scourge and Optimus' heads both swiveled toward Cerebros, picking up the underlying meaning in his words. They implied that Cerebros intended for Scourge to play some roll in Koji's recovery. The very idea was unbelievable to both of them. Optimus could not and would not trust Scourge with Koji's well being. The past few weeks not withstanding, Scourge had never shown any interest or compassion for the humans caught up in their battles. To trust Scourge with a human so close to his own spark was unacceptable. Optimus would not allow it.

"What do you mean?" Scourge asked.

"Koji is most comfortable with you. He has full memories of who you are--"

"How does that make Scourge the one Koji's most comfortable with?" Ultra Magnus interrupted. Cerebros turned a dry look on Prime's brother. "I'm serious. No offense but didn't Scourge try kidnap and exploit him a few times back during the Earth battles?"

"And didn't he do exactly the same thing three weeks ago when he grabbed Koji on Earth?" X-brawn pointed out as well.

"I have not done Koji any harm since I found him on Earth—" Scourge began, only to be interrupted.

"Then how, may I ask, did he end up in the damn hospital?" X-brawn drawled, his accent thickened by sarcasm.

"He was attacked by a sea nettle! I didn't have the supplies to treat him on board so I took him to the hospital. I left him there because he was still too ill to travel when I got word that you idiots were on your way!" Scourge growled.

"And how did he get attacked by this 'sea nettle'?"

"He went swimming when we stopped for supplies. I didn't realize there was any danger when I let him go," said Scourge not really defensive, but sounding somewhat …guilty?

"Well obviously you were wrong," X-brawn sniped.

"I did the best I could—"

"Well it wasn't good enough."

"X-brawn," Cerebros warned deciding the verbal sparring had gone to far.

The warning came too late. No one actually saw who threw the first punch but a second later Scourge and X-brawn were having at each other, X-brawn going for Scourge's throat and Scourge pummeling X-brawn with a few wild punches.

Optimus felt rather than saw Sideburn start to move. The younger 'Bot was too far away for him to be able to just throw out an arm pull him back before he reached the brawling pair on the floor. To his surprise though, it seemed that joining the fray wasn't Sideburn's intent.

Sideburn didn't know when he started moving. The only thing that was on his mind was that his big brother was an idiot. Why else would he provoke Scourge into a fight when Koji was right there? Didn't he realize Koji could be caught in the crossfire?

He dove, hands gently wrapping around Koji, then twisting in mid air, he landed on his back cradling Koji to his chest. For good measure, he kicked out his foot, striking one of the brawling idiots when they rolled too close to where Koji had been standing. He didn't care which he hit. His actions were rewarded with a pained grunt from his brother.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, he turned his attention toward making sure Koji was alright. He was greeted by a slightly befuddled looking Koji, staring up at him with something akin to shock.

Sideburn frowned. This wasn't a typical Koji reaction. His friend, who always saw the best in people, shouldn't be surprised that someone was acting in the best interests of his safety.

"Are you ok buddy?" Sideburn asked. He watched Koji's head drop as the boy attempted to bury his face in Sideburn's chestplate. Maybe he was processing what had just happened. Or maybe he was frightened to find himself in some stranger's grasp while the only familiar face in the room was being pummeled a few yards away.

Sideburn's anxiety increased tenfold when Koji's shoulders started to shake. "Hey buddy, don't cry. You're ok," he comforted not sure what else to do or say. It would probably be best if he put Koji down, but he wasn't ready to let him go right now; even though he was peripherally aware of Ultra Magnus and Optimus putting an end to the brawl by pulling X-brawn and Scourge apart.

"Buddy?" he queried again when Koji's whole body began to shake. Suddenly Koji's head shot back up to reveal a grin.

"Koji? You didn't hit your head did you?" Sideburn asked, his unease growing exponentially.

"No," Koji shook his head, still chuckling. "I just--Pie humor," he dissolved back into laughter.

Sideburn couldn't believe his audios at first. It was unbelievable. Koji remembered that conversation they'd had on their way to the Pyuma Ruins so long ago. "Pie humor," he agreed, beginning to chuckle himself. "My favorite."

* * *

"Did it not occur to you that there was a reason for my 'no violence' rule?" Cerebros queried.

"Well, maybe once or twice," X-brawn admitted sheepishly.

The group, with the exception of Sideburn, Koji, and Scourge, had relocated to another room. The room, judging by the recharge berths covering two of the walls, had at one time served as a dormitory of sorts.

Ultra Magnus, making himself at home, was reclining on one of the lower berths. He absently picked at the scuff mark on his arm from where Scourge had clawed him while attempting to get free when Magnus had helped break up the dispute. His attention was on the show taking place in the center of the room, where Cerebros was dressing down X-brawn.

Prowl was sitting on the same berth as Ultra Magnus, nervously wringing his hands. His mind was clearly elsewhere, probably with Sideburn who was alone with Scourge and Koji a few doors down.

Optimus stood against the far wall, watching as Cerebros disciplined his soldier. He'd said nothing in defense or condemnation of X-brawn's actions towards Scourge, but due to his lack support it was assumed that he agreed with Cerebros's tirade.

"Close Quarters Combat is dangerous under normal circumstances," Cerebros ranted. "It damages property, increases the risk of friendly fire fatalities and civilian casualties, and is just plain stupid when you haven't done any pre-planning," Cerebros continued. "In conclusion, you jumped headlong into a Close Quarters Combat situation with all the risks and none of the advantages."

"That sounds about right I guess," X-brawn reluctantly admitted.

"Thereby putting a human boy in danger. You do realize that without Sideburn's quick thinking Koji might have been crushed?" Cerebros demanded.

"Go Sideburn," Ultra Magnus muttered.

"And you did not help the situation," said Cerebros, rounding on Magnus.

"Hey, I was just asking an honest question," Ultra Magnus said with a careless shrug.

"Which escalated an already tense situation into a volatile one," Cerebros reminded him.

Ultra Magnus frowned, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the berth. Far from being a willing victim like the repentant X-brawn, Magnus met Cerebros head on. "I still don't see why the kid would feel safer with Scourge than us. Scourge was allied with Megatron. Hell, you can't tell me Koji didn't have nightmares about some of the stuff Scourge did."

"He did," Prowl spoke up. "He used to tell Sideburn about them. I overheard them talking a few times. They didn't sound pleasant in the least."

Magnus nodded. "Exactly. Now care to explain why the slag you think the kid would be better off with Scourge than with us?"

"I never said he'd be better off with Scourge. I simply said Koji was more comfortable with him. They've already established a bond between them. Koji trusts Scourge despite Scourge's action in the past, something that can not be said for the rest of you."

"What about Sideburn?" Optimus spoke up. "Koji remembers him now. He always trusted Sideburn. He'd tell him things he'd never talk to the rest of us about." There wasn't the slightest tinge of jealousy in Optimus's voice, he hid it too well.

"Koji remembers one conversation he had with Sideburn over five years ago. That is not the basis for a trusting friendship. While I admit he will probably regain his memories of Sideburn faster now, it will still be good for him to have another familiar face present--" Cerebros was cut off.

"You said that before." Optimus said. "And to some extent I understand it, but there's something else you're not telling us, isn't there?"

"Everything I'm doing is in the best interests of Koji's wellbeing Prime... but," Cerebros paused. "…I'm not adverse to 'killing two birds with one stone' as they say."

"Which means what exactly?" Magnus asked.

"It means that while Scourge's continued presence will benefit Koji greatly, it will benefit Scourge as well," Cerebros acknowledged the other part of his plan.

"How?"

Cerebros pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't how he'd intended to tell them, but it would have to do. "After Scourge's initial contact with Koji a few weeks ago I noticed that he began acting differently toward Koji. At first I believed it to be part of the revenge he was planning, but as time went on…Scourge began to show genuine care and concern for Koji."

"What do you mean?" Optimus asked. He didn't like where this was going.

"Scourge is reverting to his Autobot programming. The process began when he found Koji on Earth."

"What?!" Ultra Magnus demanded. "I mean, I know the kid's special, but reforming a Decepticon? _The_ Decepticon? That's a little hard for me to believe."

"I believe that the process started as a result of Scourge accessing the Autobot programming so that he could earn Koji's trust. As we all know Scourge's typical behavior would have done him little good in that respect. The problem for Scourge was, that once accessed, the Autobot programming started to take over," Cerebros informed them.

"And so if it's already done, why do we need to keep them together?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Other than the fact that, however indirectly, Koji is the cause of Scourge's change of heart and removing him from Scourge's company might reverse the process?" Cerebros's voice laced with a liberal amount of sarcasm. "How about this then? Koji needs Scourge and Scourge needs Koji. It's as simple as that."

* * *

The cemetery was deserted at this hour. Bereaved relatives didn't venture in to visit their departed loved ones after dark. Whether that was out superstition or inconvenience, Maro Onishi didn't know. He rather enjoyed the solitude that allowed him to speak freely to his brother. He often came here after sunset just for that reason. It was nice to be able to speak his mind after so many years of forced silence between them.

He sat curled up by the headstone, the same way he and his brother had sat under their favorite tree when they were children. That had been before Kenneth had left for college and to chase his dreams. Before Kenneth had gone on that twelve month dig in Central America and brought home an illegitimate son.

That dig had been the end of their talks. Their father, largely tolerant of Kenneth's wanderings because he'd thought that his youngest would tire of them eventually and come home for good. Maybe to settle down with the girl he'd chosen for Kenneth. Koji's existence had shattered those illusions.

Thus their father had issued his ultimatum, either Kenneth was to get rid of the boy or he'd never be welcome in their childhood home again. Kenneth had responded by taking his newborn son and leaving for the city.

Kenneth was never spoken of again by their father until the funeral. Even then he'd only said that Kenneth's death was a pity. Though Maro knew his father grieved the loss of his youngest son, and to some extent the loss of his only grandchild as well, his father kept his grief private.

Maro's own grief was somewhat eclipsed by his desire to find his nephew. Even if Koji was dead, he wanted his brother to have his son by his side instead of just a few of the child's favorite possessions. And if Koji was alive, like recent evidence suggested, he would to bring Koji home. It was the least he could for Kenneth, and for Koji.

AN: This was the chapter that would not be written. Merry Christmas. Next chapter of Matches will be up shortly.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing

AN: Thank God for youtube. It's the only place I can find the RiD episodes.

Chapter 15

"So then we got him to do a seal impression before he realized that I was just messing with his head," Sideburn snickered.

Koji let out a little chuckle himself. Sky-byte had been his friend but at times he'd been really silly.

"So that's why it took you idiots so long to reach the power plant. Sky-byte sent you to the wrong one. The fool could have at least gotten the right information if he was going to sabotage me," Scourge grumbled.

"Poor guy tried so hard, only to fail so miserably," Sideburn chuckled. He hadn't felt this at ease in years. Rather odd considering present company. Under other circumstance, he'd be the first to whip out a blaster and try to blow Scourge to pieces, but given that Scourge had passed up several opportunities to return the favor, Sideburn was willing to do the same for the moment. Besides, if Scourge was pulling another trick like that time he'd tried to convince Optimus that he and the Decepticons wanted to rejoin the Autobots, Scourge was going to be on his best behavior.

"Don't pity him so much Autobot. I never saw him imprisoned with the rest of us," Scourge pointed out.

"Yeah, now that I think about it I don't remember him ever being arrested." Sideburn thought to the days following Dr. Onishi's funeral. His memories were a little hazy from grief and despair, but he was pretty sure that Optimus had assured him at some point that the search was not completely being called off and that there was an agent who would keep following any and all leads in their absence. At the time he's thought Optimus meant one of his human contacts in law enforcement, but now…

"He's still on Earth," said Koji with a smile. "I remember seeing him a few times. I think the last time I saw him was about a month before Scourge came and got me."

"I guess he didn't see you though," Sideburn felt a pang of regret. If Sky-byte really was Optimus's contact they could have found Koji months ago.

In answer to Sideburn's question Koji shook his head. "No, I didn't recognize him back then. And he's kind of scary looking if you don't know he's nice, so I stayed away from him mostly. Besides, looking at him gave me a headache."

"Cerebros's failsafes at work," Scourge grunted.

"Will I be able to see him again?" Koji asked. "I miss him."

"Sky-byte? I don't know. Technically he's a fugitive but we've never actively pursued him. I doubt he's considered a serious threat," Sideburn explained. "You'll have to ask Optimus. I'm not sure what his plans for you are yet."

"Cerebros wants me to stay on Cybertron until I recover. I think he wants the people who kidnapped me and Dad taken care of too before I go back to Earth," said Koji.

"That _is_ high on our priorities list, trust me on that," Sideburn assured him.

"I do."

Sideburn smiled. "Thanks kid."

* * *

"We can't just hand the kid over to Scourge and be on our merry way," Ultra Magnus groused.

"I'm not expecting you to. I've only said that they need to remain together. They can remain together under Autobot supervision just as well as they could left to their own devices," Cerebros countered.

"In case you're forgetting, Scourge is a wanted criminal. He wasn't in prison for traffic violations. He's a war criminal."

"I'm aware of that. But he is reforming—"

"He killed someone during his escape. He went to Earth fully intending to kill Koji. Just reforming isn't enough. We need proof that his change of heart isn't just another trick. It wouldn't be the first time he tried something like this."

"It's not necessary that you trust him. Keep an eye on him, keep him under house arrest, hell lock him in a supply closet for all I care. But he must remain with Koji. That is my only condition for handing them over to you," said Cerebros.

"It's not that simple," Ultra Magus insisted.

"Then make it that simple. For primussake, the Autobot commander, vice-commander, and two lieutenants are in this room. Surely the four of you can work something out," Cerebros insisted.

"And if we can't?" Optimus asked.

"Then Koji and Scourge will remain here under my supervision, and you will have severely limited access to Koji. That's not my ideal solution but it will be my only option if you cannot comply with my conditions."

Optimus was silent. He looked around the room, meeting both Prowl and X-brawn's optics briefly. He turned to his brother, who held his gaze longer. After a moment of silent communication, they both turned to Cerebros.

"Scourge will be under heavy guard and held in a secure facility. Koji will be able to visit him there as much as he wants, but he will stay with the Autobot brothers during his sleep cycles," Optimus said, laying down his own conditions.

"Nine hours out of every twenty-four. That's the minimum amount of time that Koji has to spend with Scourge. Longer would be better, but not absolutely necessary," Cerebros insisted.

"His visits will be supervised by either myself or at least two other Autobots," Optimus countered.

"As long as they are only there as observers I see no problem with it," Cerebros agreed.

"Good," Optimus nodded. "Magnus, Prowl, go get the ship."

"Use docking bay twenty-six please. It's the easiest to oxygenate," Cerebros piped up. "By the way, Prime? This secure facility will be habitable for Koji, correct? I can't imagine him enjoying his visit in a spacesuit."

* * *

It was only through sheer force of will that Koji was able to refrain from trembling as they all gathered in the docking bay. He hadn't been this nervous when Scourge had first taken him into space, but then again he hadn't been in his right mind back then either. He was fairly sure that Cerebros had been influencing him to keep him calm.

Of course now that Cerebros was fully restored, Koji was on his own.

As though reading his thoughts, Cerebros sent him a cheeky grin. Koji responded with a look that clearly stated that he was not amused.

"We've made the arrangements, Optimus," Prowl announced from the top of the boarding ramp.

"Then we're ready to proceed," said Optimus.

"Very well," Cerebros acknowledged. He turned to Koji, "You will be safe with them," he assured the boy.

"I remember that much," admitted Koji. "But it's not me I'm worried about." He nodded toward Scourge, who was wearing wrist restraints.

"Scourge will not be harmed unless he attempts to escape," Optimus spoke up. Koji sent him a rather disbelieving look. "You have my word as an Autobot," Optimus promised. Koji was somewhat mollified.

"I'll be checking in on you all as often as circumstances allow," Cerebros reminded them.

"Do we really need a babysitter?" X-brawn grumbled.

"Judging by your recent actions, I'd say you do," Cerebros countered.

"It's acceptable—" Optimus began.

"And non-negotiable," interrupted Cerebros. "The boy has been my responsibility for years. I am not giving up that responsibility to you unless I am completely certain that you can properly care for him."

"We are more than capable of looking after Koji," said Prowl.

"We'll see about that," Cerebros countered. He stood and faced Koji. "Have fun," he said cheerily. Koji stared back.

* * *

The shark was ridiculously easy to track, even if it wasn't signing its theme song.

Maro watched it from a distance as it went about its daily routine. It wandered the streets doing who knows what. By midday it was as though the creature was the Pied Piper. Children recently released from school flocked to it as had the children of the legend, drawn inexplicably by its song. With faint amusement, he watched the children corner the shark, demanding autographs and bad poetry from the creature.

He'd observed it long enough. Tonight he would approach it.

Rumors spread like wildfire through his contacts. An abduction a few weeks prior, carried out by a Decepticon. A boy bearing a passing resemblance to his nephew was taken. The rumors described the boy as a transient who slept in a warehouse owned by a local crime lord. Scarred and not quite sane anymore, it could be anyone. At this point though Maro would follow any lead he could. There certainly wasn't an abundance of leads after three years, and he had the time. Even if it didn't lead him to his nephew, it was something.

* * *

AN: I'm trying to figure out how it is that I seemed to have based Cerebros off of The Doctor when I only recently got into that fandom.


End file.
